Novel malignant cell type markers of the interior nuclear matrix

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are genetic sequences and their encoded amino acid sequences for two interior nuclear matrix proteins useful as markers of malignant cell types. Primary and secondary structure analysis of the proteins is presented as well as means for their recombinant production, and compositions and methods for the use of these markers in clinical assays and cancer therapies.

This application is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 08/195,487 filed Feb. 14, 1994, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 07/901,701, filed Jun. 22, 1992, now abandoned.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Related applications include: U.S. Ser. No. 08/195,487, filed Feb. 14, 1994, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 07/901,701, filed Jun. 22, 1992, now abandoned; U.S. Ser. No. 08/483,924, filed Jun. 7, 1995, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/195,487, filed Feb. 14, 1994, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 07/901,701, filed Jun. 22, 1992, now abandoned; U.S. Ser. No. 08/466,390, filed Jun. 6, 1995, which is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 08/195,487, filed Feb. 14, 1994, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 07/901,701, filed Jun. 22, 1992, now abandoned; U.S. Ser. No. 08/467,781, filed Jun. 6, 1995, which is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 08/195,487, filed Feb. 14, 1994, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 07/901,701, filed Jun. 22, 1992, now abandoned; U.S. Ser. No. 08/456,620, filed Jun. 1, 1995, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/112,646, filed Aug. 26, 1993, now abandoned, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 07/785,804, filed Oct. 31, 1991, now abandoned; U.S. Ser. No. 08/444,821, filed May 18, 1995, which is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 08/112,646, filed Aug. 26, 1993, now abandoned, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 07/785,804, filed Oct. 31, 1991, now abandoned; and U.S. Ser. No. 08/443,630, filed May 18, 1995, which is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 08/112,646, filed Aug. 26, 1993, now abandoned, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 07/785,804, filed Oct. 31, 1991, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

All eucaryotic cells, both plant and animal, have a nucleus surrounded by the cell cytoplasm. The nucleus contains the cellular DNA complexed with protein and termed chromatin. The chromatin, with its associated proteins, constitutes the major portion of the nuclear mass and is organized by the internal protein skeleton of the nucleus, referred to here as the nuclear matrix (NM). The nuclear matrix also is defined as the nuclear structure that remains following removal of the chromatin by digestion with DNase I and extraction with high salt. This skeletal nuclear structure further is characterized by the "interior nuclear matrix" (INM) and the bounding nuclear pore-lamina complex.

Diverse studies have implicated the NM in a wide variety of nuclear functions fundamental to the control of gene expression (For a general review see, for example, Fey et al. (1991) Crit. Rev. Euk. Gene Express 1:127-143). In particular, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,882,268 and 4,885,236, it is now known that certain nuclear matrix proteins, specifically interior nuclear matrix proteins, are useful as marker proteins for identifying cell types. For example, the presence and abundance of particular INM proteins have been shown to be characteristic of specific cell types and can be used to identify the tissue of origin of a cell or cell fragment present in a sample. One particularly important application of this discovery is the use of marker INM proteins in evaluating metastatic tissue. It is also known that the expression of certain INM proteins is altered in malignant or otherwise dysfunctional cells. The altered expression pattern of these proteins in maligrant and/or dysfunctioning cells also makes the proteins and nucleic acids encoding the proteins useful as marker proteins, alone or in combination, for diagnostic purposes and for evaluating tissue viability. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,882,628 and 4,885,236, issued Nov. 21, 1989 and Dec. 5, 1989, respectively, to Penman and Fey, disclose a method for selectively extracting insoluble INM proteins and their associated nucleic acids from cells or cellular debris and distinguishing the expression pattern of these proteins in a particular cell type by displaying the proteins on a two-dimensional electrophoresis gel. In addition, it recently has been discovered that INM proteins or protein fragments also may be released in soluble form from dying cells. (See PCT Publication WO93/09437, published May 13, 1993).

To date, molecular characterization of the specific proteins of the NM, particularly the INM, remain poorly defined due to the low abundance of these proteins in the cell and their generally insoluble character. The ability to isolate and characterize specific nuclear matrix proteins and the genetic sequences encoding them at the molecular level is anticipated to enhance the use of these proteins and their nucleic acids as marker molecules, and to enhance elucidation of the biological role of these proteins in vivo.

It is an object of this invention to provide genetic sequences encoding INM proteins useful as markers of malignant cell types. Another object is to provide enhanced means for identifying these proteins and their nucleic acids, including RNA transcripts, in samples. Yet another object of this invention is to provide compositions for use in diagnostic and other tissue evaluative procedures. Still another object is to provide genetic and amino acid sequences useful as target molecules in a cancer therapy. These and other objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the description, figures and claims which follow.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Molecular characterization data, including DNA sequence data, for two INM proteins now have been derived from an expression library, using monoclonal antibodies for these proteins. The proteins, designated herein as MT1 and MT2, are present at elevated levels in malignant tissue and extracellular fluids. Accordingly, the proteins and the genetic sequences encoding them are thought to be useful as marker molecules for identifying tissue tumor.genesis in cell or body fluid samples.

Full or partial clones of the genes encoding these proteins now have been isolated, and the DNA sequence, reading frames and encoded amino acid sequences of these DNAs determined. The DNA sequence for MT2 corresponds to the sequence disclosed by Yang, et al. (1992) J. Cell. Biol. 116:1303-1317, and Compton et al. (1992) J. Cell. Biol. 116:1395-1408, referred to therein as NuMA. The nucleic acid (and the encoded amino acid sequence) described herein for MT1 has not been described previously and also constitutes a novel sequence sharing little sequence homology with those sequences known in the art. In addition, MT1 has been subcloned into an expression vector, and the protein expressed as a cleavable fusion protein in E. coli. Both the MT1 and MT2 (NuMA) proteins are distributed throughout the nucleus (with the exception of the nucleolus) in non-mitotic cells, and localize to the spindle during mitosis, as determined immunofluoresence.

The genetic sequences described herein provide a family of proteins for each of the proteins MT1 and MT2, including allelic and species variants of MT1 and MT2. The family of proteins include these proteins produced by expression in a host cell from recombinant DNA, the DNA itself, and the host cells harboring and capable of expressing these nucleic acids. The recombinantly produced proteins may be isolated using standard methodologies such as affinity chromatography to yield substantially pure proteins. As used herein, "substantially pure" is understood to mean substantially free of undesired, contaminating proteinaceous material.

The family of proteins defined by MT1 includes proteins encoded by the nucleic acid sequence of Seq. ID No. 1, including analogs thereof. As used herein, "analog" is understood to include allelic and species variants, and other naturally-occurring and engineered mutants. Particularly envisioned are DNAs having a different preferred codon usage, those having "silent mutations" of the DNA of Seq. ID No.1, wherein the changes in the genetic sequence do not affect the encoded amino acid sequence, and DNAs encoding "conservative" amino acid changes, as defined by Dayoff et al., Atlas of Protein Sequence and Structure; vol. 5, Supp. 3, pp 345-362 (M. O. Dayoff, ed., Nat'l Biomed. Research Foundation, Washington, D.C. 1979.)

Accordingly, the nucleic acids encoding the protein family of MT1 may be defined as those sequences which hybridize to the DNA sequence of Seq. ID No.1 under stringent hybridization conditions. As used herein, stringent hybridization conditions are as defined in Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Maniatis, et al. eds., Cold Spring Harbor Press, 1985, e.g.: hybridization in 50% formamide, 5× Denhardt's Solution, 5×SSPE, 0.1% SDS and 100 μg/ml denatured salmon sperm, and washing in 2×SSC, 0.1% SDS, at 37° C., and 1×SSC, 0.1% SDS at 68° C.

The family of proteins defined by MT2 includes proteins encoded by the nucleic acid sequence of Seq. ID No. 3, including analogs thereof, including allelic and species variants, and other naturally-occurring and engineered mutants. Particularly envisioned are DNAs having silent mutations, other preferred codon usages, and DNAs encoding conservative amino acid changes. The nucleic acids encoding the protein family of MT2 of this invention may be defined as those sequences which hybridize with the DNA sequence of Seq. ID No. 3 under stringent hybridization conditions.

In another aspect, the invention provides nucleic acid fragments ("oligonucleotides" or "oligomers") which hybridize to genetic sequences encoding MT1, but which do not necessarily encode functional proteins themselves. The oliognucleotides include probes for isolating genetic sequences encoding members of the MT1 family of proteins from a cDNA or genomic DNA library, and/or for identifying genetic sequences naturally associated with the MT1 protein coding sequence e.g., sequences lying upstream or downstream from the coding sequences. For example, where the nucleic acid fragment is to be used as a probe to identify other members of the MT1 family, the nucleic acid fragment may be a degenerate sequence as described in Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Maniatis, et al. eds., Cold Spring Harbor Press, 1985, designed using the sequence of Seq. ID No.1 as a template. Accordingly, the oligonucleotide or nucleic acid fragment may comprise part or all of the DNA sequence of Seq. ID No. 1, or may be a biosynthetic sequence based on the DNA sequence of Seq. ID No. 1. The oligonucleotide preferably is suitably labelled using conventional labelling techniques.

The oligonucleotides also include sequences which hybridize with the mRNA transcript encoding the MT1 protein. These complementary sequences are referred to in the art and herein as antisense sequences. Antisense sequences may comprise part or all of the sequence of Seq. ID No. 1, or they may be biosynthetic sequences designed using the sequence of Seq. ID No. 1 as a template.

In still another aspect, the invention provides oligonucleotides which hybridize to the genetic sequences encoding members of the MT2 protein family. The fragments include antisense sequences and sequences useful as probes for identifying members of the MT2 family and/or for identifying associated noncoding sequences. The hybridizing nucleic acids may comprise part or all of the sequence of Seq. ID No. 3 or may be biosynthetic sequences designed using the DNA sequence of Seq. ID No. 3 as a template, preferably suitably labelled using conventional techniques.

The genetic sequences identified herein encode proteins identified as marker proteins indicative of a malignancy or other cellular dysfunction in a tissue. Thus, in another aspect, the invention provides compositions for obtaining antibodies useful for detecting cancer marker proteins in a sample using the proteins described herein in combination with a suitable adjuvant. In another aspect, the invention provides genetic templates for designing sequences which hybridize specifically with the mRNA transcripts encoding these proteins. In still another aspect, the invention provides isolated DNA sequences for use in expressing proteins and protein fragments for the design of binding proteins, including antibodies, which interact specifically with an epitope on MT1 or MT2. The invention also provides methods for evaluating the status of a tissue using the genetic sequences described herein, and the marker proteins encoded by them. Finally, the invention provides methods for treating a malignancy in an individual using these marker proteins, or the genetic sequences encoding them, as target molecules to inhibit or disable the cell's ability to undergo cell division.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1D is a schematic representation of the amino acid sequence of MT1 of Seq. ID No.1, showing:

FIG. 1A the location of the proline residues;

FIG. 1B the areas defined as α-helices within the sequence;

FIG. 1C the location of the cysteine residues; and

FIG. 1D the sites of cleavage by NTCB; and

FIGS. 2A-2B is a schematic representation of the amino acid sequence of MT2 of Seq. ID No.3, showing:

FIG. 2A the location of proline residues; and

FIG. 2B the areas defined as α-helices within the sequence.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In an attempt to characterize INM proteins useful as malignant cell markers in biological assays, the genetic sequences encoding two INM proteins, herein referred to as MT1 and MT2, now have been identified and characterized. DNA sequences encoding these proteins now have been cloned by probing expression libraries using monoclonal antibodies raised against the isolated INM proteins MT1 and MT2. The proteins were isolated from malignant cells essentially following the method of Penman and Fey, described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,882,268 and 4,885,236, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference. The cloned DNAs, then were sequenced and their reading frames identified and analyzed. The genetic sequence encoding MT2 also has been disclosed by others (Yang, et al. (1992) J. Cell. Biol. 116:1303-1317 and Compton et al. (1992) J. Cell. Biol. 116:1395-1408), and is referred to by them as "NUMA". Comparison of MT1 and MT2 (NuMA) with other sequences in the art indicate that the sequences encoding these proteins constitute sequences sharing little homology with previously described sequences.

MT1 also has been expressed as a cleavable fusion protein in E. coli and compared with the protein isolated from mammalian cells. Anti-MT1 antibodies raised against the natural-sourced MT1 protein also crossreact with the recombinantly produced protein. Both the natural-sourced and recombinantly produced proteins have the same apparent molecular weight when analyzed by SDS-PAGE (90 kD), equivalent pI values (5.4), and both proteins show the same cleavage pattern when cleaved with 2-nitro-3-thiocyanobenzoic acid (NTCB, see infra.)

Immunolocalization data on MT1 indicates that MT1 protein is distributed within the INM in non-mitotic cells as discrete punctate foci, nonuniformly distributed throughout the nucleoplasm of the INM. Specifically, the foci are present in the interchromatinic regions of the nucleus and are distributed in a stable association that remains after chromatin extraction, as is anticipated for an interior nuclear matrix protein. In addition, MT1 foci are excluded from the nucleolus and the nuclear lamina. Moreover, during mitosis, the distribution of MT1 changes and MT1 becomes aligned in a stellate or star-shaped pattern at the spindle of the dividing cell. The protein does not co-localize with the chromosomes, suggesting that MT1 may play a structural role during mitosis. The immunolocalization data is consistent with the MT1 amino acid sequence analysis data which fails to find structural homology with any known DNA binding motifs, such as the "leucine zipper."

While the MT2 (NuMA) protein has not yet been recombinantly expressed, the predicted molecular weight of 238 kDa for this protein, calculated from the predicted amino acid sequence (see Seq. ID No. 3), agrees with that of the natural-sourced material.

Immunolocalization studies on MT2 (NuMA) indicate that it also forms punctate foci located throughout the nucleoplasm of the non-mitotic cell, and also is excluded from the nucleolus. During mitosis the protein appears to migrate to the spindle poles of the dividing cell. The primary sequence appears to suggest a coiled-coil motif for the folded protein (Compton, et al. (1992) J. Cell. Biol. 116:1395-1408; Yang, et al. (1992) J. Cell. Biol. 116:1303-1317.)

I. How to Use

The nucleic acids disclosed herein encode proteins originally identified as marker proteins useful for identifying cell malignancies or other cell abnormalties. Specifically, significantly elevated levels of these proteins are detected in malignant cells and in extracellular fluids, e.g., sera, of cancer patients. (See PCT Publication WO93/09437, published May 13, 1991, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.) For example, the presence and/or abundance of these proteins or their transcripts in a sample containing cells or cell nuclear debris may be used to determine whether a given tissue comprises malignant cells or cells having other abnormalities, such as chromosomal abnormalities. The sample may be an exfoliated cell sample or a body fluid sample, e.g., a sample comprising blood, serum, plasma, urine, semen, vaginal secretions, spinal fluid, saliva, ascitic fluid, peritoneal fluid, sputum, tissue swabs, and body exudates such as breast exudate.

In addition, because INM proteins are released in soluble form from dying cells, the marker molecules may be used to evaluate the viability of a given tissue. For example, the marker proteins may be used to evaluate the status of a disease or the efficacy of a therapeutic treatment or procedure, by monitoring the release of these marker molecules into a body fluid over a period of time. Particularly useful body fluids include blood, serum, plasma, urine, semen, vaginal secretions, spinal fluid, saliva, ascitic fluid, peritoneal fluid, sputum, tissue swabs, and body exudates such as breast exudate. Methods for performing these assays are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,882,268 and 4,885,236 and in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 214,022, filed Jun. 30, 1988, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,877, and PCT Publication WO93/09437, published May 13, 1991, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

All of these assays are characterized by the following general procedural steps:

1) detecting the presence and/or abundance of the marker protein or its transcript in "authentic" or reference samples;

2) detecting the presence and/or abundance of the marker protein or its transcript in the sample of interest; and

3) comparing the quantity of marker protein or its transcript in the sample of interest with the quantity present in the reference sample.

Where the assay is used to monitor tissue viability, the step of detecting the presence and abundance of the marker protein or its transcript in samples of interest is repeated at intervals and these values then are compared, the changes in the detected concentrations reflecting changes in the status of the tissue. Where the assay is used to evaluate the efficacy of a therapy, the monitoring steps occur following administration of the therapeutic agent or procedure (e.g., following administration of a chemotherapeutic agent or following radiation treatment.)

It is not required that the selected marker protein or transcript be totally unique, in the sense that the particular INM marker molecule is present in the target cell type and in no other. Rather, it is required that the marker molecule have a signal to noise ratio high enough to discriminate the preselected cell type in samples for which the assay is designed. For example, MT1 and MT2 proteins are useful as proteins indicating the presence of malignancy in cell samples because of their elevated expression levels in malignant cells, even though the proteins, or close analogs thereof, may be present commonly in nonmalignant cell types.

A brief description of general protein and nucleic acid assay considerations follows below. Details of particular assay conditions may be found in the assay references described above and incorporated herein by reference, and in published protocols well known in the art and readily available.

A. Protein Assays

Characterization of the MT1 and MT2 proteins at the molecular level as described herein allows one to characterize the proteins structurally and biochemically. Accordingly, following the disclosure of these genetic sequences and their encoded amino acid sequences, preferred binding epitopes may be identified which may be used to enhance assay conditions. For example, binding proteins may be designed which have enhanced affinity for the marker protein produced by particular cell types or as a function of particular malignancies. Similarly, binding proteins may be designed which bind preferentially to protein fragments released from dying cells. In addition, structural and/or sequence variations between proteins produced in normal and abnormal tissue now may be investigated and used to advantage. The genetic sequences may be manipulated as desired, e.g., truncated, mutagenized or the like, using standard recombinant DNA procedures known in the art, to obtained proteins having desired features useful for antibody production.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, any means for specifically identifying and quantifying a marker protein of interest is contemplated. The currently preferred means for detecting a protein of interest in a sample is by means of a binding protein capable of interacting specifically with the marker protein. Labelled antibodies or the binding portions thereof in particular may be used to advantage. The antibodies may be monoclonal or polyclonal in origin, or may be biosynthetically produced. The amount of complexed marker protein, e.g., the amount of marker protein associated with the binding protein, then is determined using standard protein detection methodologies well described in the art.

A.1. Immunoassays

A variety of different forms of immunoassays currently exist, all of which may be adapted to detect and quantitate INM proteins and protein fragments. For exfoliated cell samples, as an example, the cells and surrounding fluid are collected and the INM proteins selectively isolated by the method of Penman and Fey, described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,882,268 and 4,885,236. These proteins then preferably are separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and the presence of the marker protein detected by standard Western blot procedures.

For serum and other fluid assays where the marker proteins and/or protein fragments to be detected exist primarily in solution,, one of the currently most sensitive immunoassay formats is the sandwich technique. In this method, as described in PCT Publication WO93/09437, published May 13, 1993, two antibodies capable of binding the analyte of interest generally are used: e.g., one immobilized onto a solid support, and one free in solution, but labeled with some easily detectable chemical compound. Examples of chemical labels that may be used for the second antibody include radioisotopes, fluorescent compounds, and enzymes or other molecules which generate colored or electrochemically active products when exposed to a reactant or enzyme substrate. When samples containing the marker protein or protein fragment are placed in this system, the marker protein binds to both the immobilized antibody and the labelled antibody. The result is a "sandwich" immune complex on the support's surface. The complexed protein is detected by washing away nonbound sample components and excess labeled antibody, and measuring the amount of labeled antibody complexed to protein on the support's surface. The sandwich immunoassay is highly specific and very sensitive, provided that labels with good limits of detection are used. A detailed review of immunological assay design, theory and protocols can be found in numerous texts in the art, including Practical Immunology, Butt, W. R., ed., Marcel Dekker, New York, 1984.

In general, immunoassay design considerations include preparation of antibodies (e.g., monoclonal or polyclonal) having sufficiently high binding specificity for their antigen that the specifically-bound antibody-antigen complex can be distinguished reliably from nonspecific interactions. As used herein, "antibody" is understood to include other binding proteins having appropriate binding affinity and specificity for the marker protein. The higher the antibody binding specificity, the lower the antigen concentration that can be detected. Currently preferred binding specificity is such that the binding protein has a binding affinity for the marker protein of greater than about 10⁵ M⁻¹, preferably greater than about 10⁷ M⁻¹.

Antibody binding domains also may be produced biosynthetically and the amino acid sequence of the binding domain manipulated to enhance binding affinity with a preferred epitope. Identification of the genetic sequences for MT1 and MT2 can be used to advantage in the design and construction of preferred binding proteins. For example, a DNA encoding a preferred epitope may be recombinantly expressed and used to select an antibody which binds selectively to the eptiope. The selected antibodies then are exposed to the sample under conditions sufficient to allow specific binding of the antibody to its specific nuclear matrix protein or protein fragment, and the amount of complex formed then detected. Specific antibody methodologies are well understood and described in the literature. A more detailed description of their preparation can be found, for example, in Practical Immunology, Butt, W. R., ed., Marcel Dekker, New York, 1984.

The choice of tagging label also will depend on the detection limitations desired. Enzyme assays (ELISAs) typically allow detection of a colored product formed by interaction of the enzyme-tagged complex with an enzyme substrate. Alternative labels include radioactive or fluorescent labels. The most sensitive label known to date is a chemiluminescent tag where interaction with a reactant results in the production of light. Useful labels include chemiluminescent molecules such as acridium esters or chemiluminescent enzymes where the reactant is an enzyme substrate. When, for example, acridium esters are reacted with an alkaline peroxide solution, an intense flash of light is emitted, allowing the limit of detection to be increased 100 to 10,000 times over those provided by other labels. In addition, the reaction is rapid. A detailed review of chemiluminescence and immunoassays can be found in Weeks, et al., (1983) Methods in Enzymology 133:366-387. Other considerations for fluid assays include the use of microtiter wells or column immunoassays. Column assays may be particularly advantageous where rapidly reacting labels, such as chemiluminescent labels, are used. The tagged complex can be eluted to a post-column detector which also contains the reactant or enzyme substrate, allowing the subsequent product formed to be detected immediately.

A.2. Antibody Production

The proteins described herein may be used to raise antibodies using standard immunological procedures well known and described in the art. See, for example, Practical Immunology, Butt, N. R., ed., Marchel Dekker, New York, 1984. Briefly, an isolated INM protein produced, for example, by recombinant DNA expression in a host cell, is used to raise antibodies in a xenogenic host. Preferred antibodies are antibodies that bind specifically to an epitope on the protein, preferably having a binding affinity greater than 10⁵ M⁻¹, most preferably having an affinity greater than 10⁷ M⁻¹ for that epitope. For example, where antibodies to a human INM protein, e.g. MT1 or MT2 is desired, a suitable antibody generating host is a mouse, goat, rabbit, guinea pig, or other mammal useful for generating antibodies. The protein is combined with a suitable adjuvant capable of enhancing antibody production in the host, and injected into the host, for example, by intraperitoneal administration. Any adjuvant suitable for stimulating the host's immune response may be used to advantage. A currently preferred adjuvant is Freund's complete adjuvant (an emulsion comprising killed and dried microbial cells, e.g., from Calbiochem Corp., San Diego, or Gibco, Grand Island, N.Y.). Where multiple antigen injections are desired, the subsequent injections comprise the antigen in combination with an incomplete adjuvant (e.g. cell-free emulsion).

Polyclonal antibodies may be isolated from the antibody-producing host by extracting serum containing antibodies to the protein of interest. Monoclonal antibodies may be produced by isolating host cells that produce the desired antibody, fusing these cells with myeloma cells using standard procedures known in the immunology art, and screening for hybrid cells (hybridomas) that react specifically with the INM protein and have the desired binding affinity.

Provided below is an exemplary protocol for monoclonal antibody production, which is currently preferred. Other protocols also are envisioned. Accordingly, the particular method of producing antibodies with the cancer marker protein compositions of this invention, is not envisioned to be an aspect of the invention. Also provided are representative assays demonstrating antibody specificity and protein quantification of antigen detected in cell culture supernatants and human sera.

Exemplary antibody production protocol: Balb/c by J mice (Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Me.) are injected intraperitoneally with purified INM protein (e.g., MT1) purified from the human cervical cell line CaSki, every 2 weeks for a total of 16 weeks. The mice are injected with a single boost 4 days prior to sacrifice and removal of the spleen. Freund's complete adjuvant (Gibco, Grand Island) is used in the first injection, incomplete Freund's in the second injection; subsequent injections are made with saline. Spleen cells (or lymph node cells) then are fused with a mouse myeloma line, e.g., using the method of Kohler and Milstein (1975) Nature 256:495, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, and using polyethylene glycol (PEG, Boehringer Mannheim, Germany). Hybridomas producing antibodies that react with nuclear matrix proteins then are cloned and grown as ascites. Hybridomas are screened by nuclear reactivity against the cell line that is the source of the immunogen, and by tissue immunochemistry using standard procedures known in the immunology art. Detailed descriptions of screening protocols, ascites production and immunoassays also are disclosed in WO93/09437, published May 13, 1993, incorporated hereinabove by reference.

Representative Assays

Table I below displays the binding results for assays performed with different antibodies raised against the two different cervical tumor cell line NM (nuclear matrix) antigen preparations (ME-180 and CaSKi, American Type Culture Collection, ATCC, Rockville, Md.). The 100-series antibodies are those raised against the ME-180 NM immunogen; the 300-series are those raised against CaSKi-NM immunogen.

                                      TABLE I                                      __________________________________________________________________________            SOLUTIONS Ab                                                            CAPTURE Ab                                                                            107-7                                                                               302-18                                                                              302-22                                                                              302-29                                                                              302-47                                                                              307-33                                         __________________________________________________________________________     107-7  NO RXN                                                                              NO RXN                                                                              NO RXN                                                                              RX   NO RXN                                                                              RXN                                            302-18 NO RXN                                                                              RXN  RXN  RXN  RXN  RXN                                            302-22 NO RXN                                                                              RXN  NO RXN                                                                              NO RXN                                                                              NO RXN                                                                              RXN                                            302-29 NO RXN                                                                              RXN  NO RXN                                                                              NO RXN                                                                              NO RXN                                                                              RXN                                            302-47 NO RXN                                                                              NO RXN                                                                              NO RXN                                                                              NO RXN                                                                              NO RXN                                                                              NO RXN                                         307-33 NO RXN                                                                              NO RXN                                                                              NO RXN                                                                              RXN  NO RXN                                                                              NO RXN                                         __________________________________________________________________________

As can be seen from the table, twelve of the thirty-six combinations tested result in a positive reaction. A positive reaction means that the two antibodies react with different epitopes on the same molecule. Only one antibody, 302-18, reacted in combination with itself.

Dose Response Assays

The first sandwich assay was obtained using antibodies 200-34 and 200-4 on nuclear matrix proteins isolated by the method of Penman and Fey (Table II) and on cell culture supernatant from dying cells (Table III). The cell line T-47D (breast tumor cell line, ATCC, Rockville, Md.) was used as the source of antigen for both experiments and demonstrated that a dose response curve can be obtained with these assay conditions.

Table II shows the data generated using a standard ELISA immunoassay and purified NM, isolated by the method of Penman et al. Table III shows the data generated under the same conditions, but using the supernatant of dying cells as the antigen source. The cell line T-47D was used as the antigen source for both experiments and two antibodies, previously shown to have strong reactivity with the T-47D antigen by dot blot assay, were used (Ab 200-34, solid phase; Ab 200-4 as soluble antibody).

                  TABLE II                                                         ______________________________________                                         Protein Concn.                                                                             OD                                                                 in NM prep. rep 1        rep 2  mean                                           ______________________________________                                         10      mg/ml   0.186        0.187                                             1       mg/ml   0.036        0.032                                                                               0.034                                        0.1     mg/ml   0.021        0.009                                                                               0.015                                        0.0             0.000        0.003                                                                               0.001                                        ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE III                                                        ______________________________________                                         Concentration                                                                  of supernatant   Mean OD  SD                                                   ______________________________________                                         Undiluted        0.150    0.015                                                1:2              0.071    0.010                                                1:4              0.026    0.003                                                1:8              0.013    0.005                                                No Sup                                                                         2:1              0.401    0.015                                                undiluted        0.145    0.006                                                1:2              0.05     0.002                                                1:4              0.017    0.003                                                1:8              0.003    0.002                                                No Sup           0.000                                                         ______________________________________                                    

The data show that reliable dose response curves can be generated using these assay conditions to quantitate soluble NM antigen in solution. Following this protocol, other antibody combinations can be tested for their ability to detect and quantitate body fluid-soluble nuclear matrix proteins and protein fragments.

Dose response evaluation results of a 107.7/307.33 antibody combination is shown in Table IV, below, using ME-180 cell culture supernatant as the antigen source. The assay shows dose dependent detection of antigen in the tissue culture supernatant, demonstrating the ability of the assay to quantitate soluble interior nuclear matrix protein released from dying cells.

                  TABLE IV                                                         ______________________________________                                         Antibody 107-7 solid phase, 307-33 soluble antibody,                           ME-180 supernatant.                                                            Concentration                                                                  of supernatant   Mean OD  SD                                                   ______________________________________                                         3:1              0.906    0.009                                                3:2              0.456    0.011                                                3:4              0.216    0.007                                                3.8              0.099    0.005                                                3:16             0.052    0.002                                                3:32             0.031    0.005                                                No Sup                                                                         ______________________________________                                    

Next, interior nuclear matrix protein quantification was tested in supernatant from a variety of dying rumor tissues. Here, rumor and normal tissues were allowed to die in media as described supra. Supernatants were assayed in various configurations of sandwich assays. The results are shown in Table V, where all values are in units/gm, using ME-180 antigen as standard. As can be seen from Table V, antigen is released from each of the dying tissues, and the three assays are measuring different antigens. As expected, the increased cell death in tumor tissue is reflected in a higher average antigen value quantitated in cancer tissue versus normal tissue. In addition, significant differences in antigen quantities are seen in the different tissue sources, indicating that the soluble antigen quantities present in the supernatant vary in a cell-type specific manner.

Table VI shows the results of an analogous experiment performed using serum samples from cancer patients and normal blood donors. As for Table VI, ME-180 cell antigen was the standard. Results are reported in units/ml. A control experiment diluting supernatant antigen into serum and then quantitating the protein in solution indicates that serum has little or no effect on the assay. As can be seen in Table VI, like the results shown in Table V, serum samples from cancer patients reflect a higher rate of cell death as indicated by the quantifiably higher levels of antigen detected in these samples compared with those detected in the normal blood serum samples.

                  TABLE V                                                          ______________________________________                                                     ANTIBODY COMBINATIONS                                                                        307-33  302-29                                       SAMPLE        SAMPLE #    107-7   107-7                                        ______________________________________                                         NORMAL        1           0.0     0.0                                          NORMAL        2           0.0     0.0                                          NORMAL        3           0.0     0.0                                          NORMAL        4           0.0     0.0                                          NORMAL        5           0.0     0.0                                          NORMAL        6           0.0     0.0                                          NORMAL        7           0.0     0.0                                          NORMAL        8           0.0     0.0                                          NORMAL        9           0.0     0.0                                          NORMAL        10          0.7     0.0                                          NORMAL        11          0.0     0.0                                          NORMAL        12          0.0     0.2                                          NORMAL        13          0.7     0.3                                          NORMAL        14          1.3     0.6                                          NORMAL        15          5.3     1.7                                          NORMAL        16          1.4     0.4                                          NORMAL        17          2.2     1.0                                          NORMAL        18          2.0     0.0                                          NORMAL        19          3.0     0.4                                          NORMAL        20          2.3     1.3                                          NORMAL        21          3.9     0.6                                          NORMAL        22          8.2     1.3                                          NORMAL        23          4.0     0.8                                          NORMAL        24          4.3     0.7                                          NORMAL        25          9.1     0.6                                          NORMAL        26          5.9     0.2                                          NORMAL        27          20.6    6.0                                          NORMAL        28          2.2     0.7                                          NORMAL        29          5.0     1.0                                          NORMAL        30          3.5     1.2                                          NORMAL        31          10.1    1.0                                          NORMAL        32          3.3     6.3                                          NORMAL        33          1.5     0.0                                          NORMAL        34          6.9     0.8                                          NORMAL        35          0.0     0.0                                          NORMAL        36          1.2     0.0                                          BLADDER CA    37          0.0     0.0                                          BLADDER CA    38          1.6     0.0                                          BLADDER C     39          0.0     0.0                                          COLON CA      40          8.9     7.0                                          COLON CA      41          28.4    24.3                                         COLON CA      42          28.6    17.9                                         COLON CA      43          11.6    8.1                                          COLON CA      44          12.8    6.8                                          COLON CA      45          6.4     0.9                                          COLON CA      46          3.7     2.4                                          COLON CA      47          28.3    27.3                                         COLON CA      48          17.5    20.2                                         COLON CA      49          4.7     0.0                                          COLON CA      50          11.7    10.3                                         COLON CA      52          5.7     0.0                                          COLON CA      53          5.1     0.5                                          COLON CA      54          6.0     1.8                                          COLON CA      55          13.1    2.3                                          COLON CA      56          9.6     5.8                                          COLOREC CA    57          58.2    41.3                                         ENDOMETRIUM C 58          10.3    6.8                                          ENDOMETRIUM C 59          4.7     1.9                                          ENDOMETRIUM C 60          9.4     7.1                                          LUNG CA       61          13.4    9.3                                          LUNG CA       62          11.9    7.9                                          LUNG CA       63          19.0    16.2                                         LUNG CA       64          16.7    7.8                                          LUNG CA       65          20.8    11.0                                         OVARY CA      66          21.1    16.9                                         OVARY CA      67          16.4    8.9                                          OVARY CA      68          11.6    8.3                                          PROSTATE CA   69          12.7    10.8                                         PROSTATE CA   70          4.9     2.8                                          PROSTATE CA   71          0.0     3.4                                          PROSTATE CA   72          15.4    7.0                                          PROSTATE CA   73          0.0     0.0                                          ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE VI                                                         ______________________________________                                         TISSUE TYPE      ASSAY 1*  ASSAY 2**                                           ______________________________________                                         Breast normal 90-247                                                                             NT#       500                                                Breast normal 90-252                                                                            7574      2705                                                Breast normal 90-254                                                                            NT        1513                                                Breast normal 90-264                                                                            NT          0                                                 Breast normal 90-268                                                                             139      NT                                                  Breast cancer 90-256                                                                             438      NT                                                  Breast cancer 90-275                                                                            2000      NT                                                  Breast cancer 90-287                                                                            20222     7333                                                Cervix normal 90-279                                                                            2500      NT                                                  Cervical cancer 90-8083                                                                         12666     NT                                                  Colon normal 90-253                                                                             1009      NT                                                  Colon cancer 90-250                                                                             1450      NT                                                  Kidney normal 90-259                                                                            4250      NT                                                  Kidney cancer 90-289                                                                            2407      NT                                                  Liver normal     2154       614                                                Liver normal 90-451                                                                             NT         131                                                Liver cancer     2227        0                                                 Met liver 90-403 NT         300                                                Lung normal 90-248                                                                              4391      NT                                                  Lung normal 90-246                                                                              4200      NT                                                  Lung normal 90-107                                                                              NT        4166                                                Lung normal 90-118                                                                              NT         650                                                Lung cancer 90-095                                                                              NT        5357                                                Lung cancer 90-121                                                                              NT        >12000                                              Ovarian cancer   8621      6517                                                Ovarian cancer 90-260                                                                           6900      NT                                                  Ovarian cancer 90-291                                                                           2768      NT                                                  Ovarian cancer 90-291                                                                           NT        10909                                               Uterine cancer 90-277                                                                           6574      NT                                                  Uterus normal 90-295                                                                            6574      NT                                                  average normal   3447      1284                                                average cancer   9442      7069                                                ______________________________________                                          *Assay 1 is 107.7 solid phase and 307.33 soluble phase.                        **Assay 2 is 107.7 solid phase and 302.29 soluble phase.                       # NT means not tested.                                                   

B. Nucleic Acid Assays

The status of a tissue also may be determined by detecting the quantity of transcripts encoding these cancer marker proteins. The currently preferred means for detecting mRNA is by means of northern blot analysis using labeled oligonucleotides e.g., nucleic acid fragments capable of hybridizing specifically with the transcript of interest. The currently preferred oligonucleotide sequence is a sequence encoding a complementary sequence to that of at least part of the transcript marker sequence. These complementary sequences are known in the art as "antisense" sequences. The oligonucleotides may be oligoribonucleotides or oligodeoxyribonucleotides. In addition, oligonucleotides may be natural oligomers composed of the biologically significant nucleotides, i.e., A (adenine), dA (deoxyadenine), G (guanine), dG (deoxyguanine), C (cytosine), dC (deoxycytosine), T (thymine) and U (uracil), or modified oligonucleotide species, substituting, for example, a methyl group or a sulfur atom for a phosphate oxygen in the inter-nucleotide phosohodiester linkage. (see, for example, Section I.C, below.) Additionally, the nucleotides themselves, and/or the ribose moieties may be modified.

The sequences may be synthesized chemically, using any of the known chemical oligonucleotide synthesis methods well described in the art. For example, the oligonucleotides are advantageously prepared by using any of the commercially available, automated nucleic acid synthesizers. Alternatively, the oligonucleotides may be created by standard recombinant DNA techniques, by, for example, inducing transcription of the noncoding strand. For example, the DNA sequence encoding a marker protein may be inverted in a recombinant DNA system, e.g., inserted in reverse orientation downstream of a suitable promoter, such that the noncoding strand now is transcribed.

Useful hybridizing oligonucleotide sequences include any sequences capable of hybridizing specifically to the MT1 or MT2 primary transcripts. Accordingly, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, useful sequences contemplated include both sequences complementary to the DNA sequences provided in Seq. ID No. 1 (MT1) or Seq. ID No. 2 (MT2) which correspond to the protein coding regions, as well as sequences complementary to transcript sequences occurring further upstream or downstream from the coding sequence (e.g., sequences contained in, or extending into, the 5'- and 3' untranslated regions). Representative antisense sequences are described in Seq. ID Nos. 5 and 6. Seq. ID No. 5 describes a sequence complementary to the first 100 nucleotides of the MT1 protein coding sequence (compare Seq. ID Nos. 1 and 5) as well as the 53 nucleotide sequence occurring upstream of the initiation codon. The complementary nucleotides to the initiation codon occur at positions 298-300 in Seq. ID No. 5. Similarly, Seq. ID No. 6 describes a sequence complementary to the first 100 nucleotides of the MT2 protein coding sequence (compare Seq. ID Nos. 3 and 6), as well as the 48 nucleotide sequence occurring upstream of the initiation codon. The complementary nucleotides to the initiation codon occur at positions 298-300 in Seq. ID No. 6. Useful oligomers may be created based on part or all of the sequences in Seq. ID No. 5 and 6. However, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, other useful sequences which hybridize to other regions of the transcript readily are created based on the sequences presented in Seq. ID Nos. 1 and 3 and/or additional, untranslated sequences, such as are disclosed for MT2 (NuMA) in Compton et al. and Yang et al.

While any length oligonucleotide may be utilized to hybridize an mRNA transcript, sequences less than 8-15 nucleotides may be less specific in hybridizing to target mRNA. Accordingly, oligonucleotides typically within the range of 8-100 nucleotides, preferably within the range of 15-50, nucleotides are envisioned to be most useful in standard RNA hybridization assays.

The oligonucleotide selected for hybridizing to the INM transcript, whether synthesized chemically or by recombinant DNA, then is isolated and purified using standard techniques and then preferably labelled (e.g., with ³⁵ S or ³² P) using standard labelling protocols.

A sample containing the marker transcript of interest then is run on an electrophoresis gel, the dispersed nucleic acids transferred to a nitrocellulose filter and the labelled oligonucleotide exposed to the filter under suitable hybridizing conditions, e.g. 50% formamide, 5×SSPE, 2×Denhardt's solution, 0.1% SDS at 42° C., as described in Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Maniatis et al. Other useful procedures known in the art include solution hybridization, and dot and slot RNA hybridization. The amount of marker transcript present in a sample then is quantitated by measuring the radioactivity of hybridized fragments, using standard procedures known in the art.

Following a similar protocol, oligonucleotides also may be used to identify other sequences encoding members of the MT1 and MT2 protein families, for example, as described in the examples that follow. The methodology also may be used to identify genetic sequences associated with the protein coding sequences described herein, e.g., to identify noncoding sequences lying upstream or downstream of the protein coding sequence, and which may play a functional role in expression of these genes. Where new marker species are to be identified, degenerate sequences and/or sequences with preferred codon bias may be created, using the sequences of Seq. ID Nos. 1 or 3 as templates, and the general guidelines described in the art for incorporating degeneracies. (See, for example, Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Maniatis, et al.)

C. Therapeutics

The proteins described herein are associated with the spindle apparatus during mitosis, and are present at elevated levels in malignant cells. Accordingly, without being limited to any particular theory, it is hypothesized that the proteins likely play a significant role in cell division, most likely a structurally related role. Accordingly, these proteins and their transcripts are good candidates as target molecules for a cancer chemotherapy.

C.1 Antisense Therapeutics

A particularly useful cancer therapeutic envisioned is an oligonucleotide complementary to part all of the marker transcript, capable of hybridizing specifically to the transcript and inhibiting translation of the mRNA when hybridized to the mRNA transcript. Antisense oligonucleotides have been used extensively to inhibit gene expression in normal and abnormal cells. See, for example, Stein et al. (1988) Cancer Res. 48:2659-2668, for a pertinent review of antisense theory and established protocols. Accordingly, the antisense nucleotides to MT1 and MT2 may be used as part of chemotherapy, alone or in combination with other therapies.

As described in Section I.B above, both oligoribonucleotide and oligodeoxyribonucleotide sequences will hybridize to an mRNA transcript and may be used to inhibit mRNA translation of the marker protein described herein. However, oligoribonucleotides generally are more susceptible to enzymatic attack by ribonucleases than deoxyribonucleotides. Hence, oligodeoxyribonucleotides are preferred for in vivo therapeutic use to inhibit mRNA translation in an individual.

Also, as described in Section I.B above, the therapeutically useful antisense oligonucleotides of the invention may be synthesized by any of the known chemical oligonucleotide synthesis methods well described in the art. Alternatively, a complementary sequence to part or all of the natural mRNA sequence may be generated using standard recombinant DNA technology. For example, the DNA encoding the protein coding sequence may be inserted in reverse orientation downstream of a promoter capable of expressing the sequence such that the noncoding strand is transcribed.

Since the complete nucleotide sequence of the protein coding sequence as well as additional 5' and 3' untranslated sequences are known for both MT1 and MT2 (see, for example, Seq. ID Nos. 1 and 3 and Compton et al.), and/or can be determined with this disclosure, antisense oligonucleotides hybridizable with any portion of the mRNA transcripts to these proteins may be prepared using conventional oligonucleotide synthesis methods known to those skilled in the art.

Oligonucleotides complementary to and hybridizable with any portion of the MT1 and MT2 mRNA transcripts are, in principle, effective for inhibiting translation of the transcript as described herein. For example, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,890, issued Mar. 24, 1992, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, oligonucleotides complementary to mRNA at or near the translation initiation codon site may be used to advantage to inhibit translation. Moreover, it has been suggested that sequences that are too distant in the 3' direction from the translation initiation site may be less effective in hybridizing the mRNA transcripts because of potential ribosomal "read-through", a phenomenon whereby the ribosome is postulated to unravel the antisense/sense duplex to permit translation of the message.

Representative antisense sequences for MT1 and MT2 transcripts are described in Seq. ID No. 5 (MT1) and Seq. ID No. 6 (MT2). The antisense sequences are complementary the sequence encoding the N-terminus of either the MT1 or MT2 marker protein, as well as part of the 5' untranslated sequences immediately upstream of the initiation codon. (See Section I.B, above for a detailed description of these sequences). As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, antisense oligonucleotides complementary to other regions of the MT1 and/or MT2 transcripts are readily created using for example, the sequences presented in Seq. ID No. 1 and 3 as templates.

As described in Section I.B above, any length oligonucleotide may be utilized to hybridize to mRNA transcripts. However, very short sequences (e.g., less than 8-15 nucleotides) may bind with less specificity. Moreover, for in vivo use such short sequences may be particularly susceptible to enzymatic degradation. In addition, where oligonucleotides are to be provided directly to the cells, very long sequences may be less effective at inhibition because of decreased uptake by the target cell. Accordingly, where the oligonucleotide is to be provided directly to target cells, oligonucleotides having a length within the range of 8-50 nucleotides, preferably 15-30 nucleotides, are envisioned to be most advantageous.

An alternative means for providing antisense sequences to a target cell is as part of a gene therapy technique, e.g., as a DNA sequence, preferably part of a vector, and associated with a promoter capable of expressing the antisense sequence, preferably constitutively, inside the target cell. Recently, Oeller et al. ((1992) Science 254:437-539, the disclosure of which is in corporated by reference) described the in vivo inhibition of the ACC synthase enzyme using a constitutively expressible DNA sequence encoding an antisense sequence to the full length ACC synthase transcript. Accordingly, where the antisense sequences are provided to a target cell indirectly, e.g., as part of an expressable gene sequence to be expressed within the cell, longer oligonucleotide sequences, including sequences complementary to substantially all the protein coding sequence, may be used to advantage.

Finally, also as described in Section I.B, above, the therapeutically usefully oligonucleotides envisioned include not only native oligomers composed of naturally occurring nucleotides, but also those comprising modified nucleotides to, for example, improve stability and lipid solubility and thereby enhance cellular uptake. For example, it is known that enhanced lipid solubility and/or resistance to nuclease digestion results by substituting a methyl group or sulfur atom for a phosphate oxygen in the internucleotide phosphodiester linkage. Phosphorothioates ("S-oligonucleotides" wherein a phosphate oxygen is replaced by a sulfur atom), in particular, are stable to nuclease cleavage, are soluble in lipids, and are preferred, particularly for direct oligonucleotide administration. S-oligonucleotides may be synthesized chemically by the known automated synthesis methods described in Section I.B, above.

Suitable oligonucleotide sequences for mRNA translation inhibition are readily evaluated by a standard in vitro assay using standard procedures described herein and well characterized in the art. An exemplary protocol is described below, but others are envisioned and may be used to advantage.

A candidate antisense sequence is prepared as provided herein, using standard chemical techniques. For example, an MT1 antisense sequence may be prepared having the sequence described by positions 285-315 of Sequence ID No. 5 using an Applied Biosystems automated DNA Synthesizer, and the oligonucleotide purified accordingly to manufacturer's instructions. The oligonucleotide then is provided to a suitable malignant cell line in culture, e.g., ME-180, under standard culture conditions, to be taken up by the proliferating cells.

Preferably, a range of doses is used to determine effective concentrations for inhibition as well as specificity of hybridization. For example, a dose range of 0-100 μg oligonucleotide/ml may be assayed. Further, the oligonucleotides may be provided to the cells in a single transfection, or as part of a series of transfections.

Antisense efficacy may be determined by assaying a change in cell proliferation over time following transfection, using standard cell counting methodology and/or by assaying for reduced expression of marker protein, e.g., by immunofluorescence, as described in Section I.A, above. Alternatively, the ability of cells to take up and use thymidine is another standard means of assaying for cell division and maybe used here, e.g., using ³ H thymidine. Effective antisense inhibition should inhibit cell division sufficiently to reduce thymidine uptake, inhibit cell proliferation, and/or reduce detectable levels of marker proteins.

Useful concentration ranged are envisioned to vary according to the nature and extent of the neoplasm, the particular oligonucleotide utilized, the relative sensitivity of the neoplasm to the oligonucleotides, and other factors. Useful ranges for a given cell type and oligonucleotide may be determined by performing a standard dose range experiment as described here. Dose range experiments also may be performed to assess toxicity levels for normal and malignant cells. Concentrations from about 1 to 100 μg/ml per 10⁵ cells may be employed to advantage.

For in vivo use, the antisense oligonucleotides may be combined with a pharmaceutical carrier, such as a suitable liquid vehicle or excipient and an optional auxiliary additive or additives. The liquid vehicles and excipients are conventional and commercially available. Illustrative thereof are distilled water, physiological saline, aqueous solutions of dextrose, and the like. For in vivo cancer therapies, the antisense sequences preferably are provided directly to the malignant cells, as by injection to the neoplasm locus. Alternatively, the oligonucletide may be administered systemically, provided that the antisense sequence is associated with means for directing the sequences to the target malignant cells.

In addition to administration with conventional carriers, the antisense oligonucleotides may be administered by a variety of specialized oligonucleotide delivery techniques. For example, oligonucleotides maybe encapsulated in liposomes, as described in Maniatis et al., Mannino et al. (1988) BioTechnology 6:682, and Felgner et al. (1989) Bethesda Res. Lab. Focus 11:21. Reconstituted virus envelopes also have been successfully used to deliver RNA and DNA to cells. (see, for example, Arad et. al., (1986) Biochem. Biophy. Acta. 859, 88-94.)

For therapeutic use in vivo, the antisense oligonucleotides are provided in a therapeutically effective amount, e.g., an amount sufficient to inhibit target protein expression in malignant cells. The actual dosage administered may take into account whether the nature of the treatment is prophylactic or therapeutic in nature, the age, weight, health and sex of the patient, the route of administration, the size and nature of the malignancy, as well as other factors. The daily dosage may range from about 0.01 to 1,000 mg per day. Greater or lesser amounts of oligonucleotide may be administered, as .required. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the medical art, particularly the chemotherapeutic art, appropriate dose ranges for in vivo administration would be routine experimentation for a clinician. As a preliminary guideline, effective concentrations for in vitro inhibition of the target molecule may be determined first, as described above.

II.B PROTEIN INHIBITION

In another embodiment, the cancer marker protein itself may be used as a target molecule. For example, a binding protein designed to bind the marker protein essentially irreversibly can be provided to the malignant cells e.g., by association with a ligand specific for the cell and known to be absorbed by the cell. Means for targeting molecules to particular cells and cell types are well described in the chemotherapeutic art.

Binding proteins maybe obtained and tested as described in Section I.A above. For example, the binding portions of antibodies maybe used to advantage. Particularly useful are binding proteins identified with high affinity for the target protein, e.g., greater than about 10⁹ M⁻¹. Alternatively, the DNA encoding the binding protein may be provided to the target cell as part of an expressable gene to be expressed within the cell following the procedures used for gene therapy protocols well described in the art. (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,796, and Gene Transfer, Vijay R. Baichwal, ed., (1986). It is anticipated that the complexed INM protein will be disabled and can inhibit cell division thereby.

AS described above for antisense nucleotides, for in vivo use, suitable binding proteins may be combined with a suitable pharmaceutical carrier, such as physiological saline or other useful carriers well characterized in the medical art. The parmaceutical compositions may be provided directly to malignant cells, e.g., by direct injection, or may be provided systemically, provided the binding protein is associated with means for targeting the protein to target cells. Finally, suitable dose ranges and cell toxicity levels may be assessed using standard dose range experiments. Therapeutically effective concentrations may range from 0.1-1,000 mg per day. As described above, actual dosages administered may vary depending, for example, on the nature of the malignanacy, the age, weight and health of the individual, as well as other factors.

II. EXEMPLIFICATION

The following examples further describe how the genetic sequences encoding MT1 and MT2 proteins were isolated and characterized, including the current best mode for their cloning and characterization, without limiting the scope thereof. For example, INM protein expression in E. coli is described herein. However, other prokayrotic and eukaryotic cell expression systems also are contemplated for recombinant expression of the proteins described herein. Other useful hosts contemplated include Saccharomyces, the insect/baculovirus expression system, and mammalian cells such as xenogenic myeloma cells and the well-characterized chinese hamster ovary cell lines.

MT1

As described in co-pending application Ser. No. 785,804, MT1 expression levels are enhanced significantly in carcinoma cells as determined by body fluid assays performed on cultured cervical tumor cell lines (Me-180 and CaSki, ATCC, Rockville, Md).

The natural-sourced MT1 protein first was separated from human cervical tumor cells essentially following the procedure of Penman and Fey described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,882,268 and 4,885,236. Cells from the human cervical tumor cell lines CaSki and ME180 (obtained from the American Tissue Culture Collection, ATCC, Rockville, Md.) were grown to confluence and removed from flasks by trypsinization. Suspended cells were washed twice with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and extracted with cytoskeletal buffer (CSK): 100 mM NaCl, 300 mM sucrose, 10 mM PIPES, 3 mM MgCl₂, 1 mM EGTA, 0.5% Triton X-100, 1.2 mM PMSF for 1 min at 4° C., followed by extraction in cold RSB (reticulocyte suspension buffer)/double detergent buffer: 100 mM NaCl, 3 mM MgCl₂, 10 mM Tris, pH 7.4, 1% Tween 40, 0.5% deoxycholate, 1.2 mM PMSF. Alternatively, cells were extracted twice with the RBS/double detergent buffer. The two extraction protocols produced very similar preparations. The extracted cells were digested for 30 min at room temperature in digestion buffer: 50 mM NaCl, 300 mM sucrose, 0.5% Triton X-100, 10 mM PIPES (pH 6.8), 3 mM MgCl₂, 1 mM EGTA, 1.2 mM PMSF, containing 100 μg of both RNase A and DNase I. Chromatin was extracted from the digested nuclei by the addition of 2M ammonium sulfate to a final concentration of 0.25M. The extracted nuclear matrix-intermediate filament (NM-IF) scaffolds then were sedimented at 3700×g for 15 min.

The resulting pellet then was resuspended in disassembly buffer: 8M urea, 20 mM MES (pH 6.6), 1 mM EGTA, 1.2 mM PMSF, 0.1 mM MgCl₂, 1% 2-mercaptoethanol, and the pellet sonicated and dialyzed overnight with 3 changes of 2000 volumes of assembly buffer: 0.15M KCl, 25 mM imidazole (pH 7.1), 5 mM MgCl₂, 2 mM DTT, 0.125 mM EGTA, 0.2 mM PMSF. The dialysate then was centrifuged at 100×g for 1 h and the NM proteins recovered from the supernatant. Alternatively, NM-IF scaffolds were extracted directly with E400 buffer: 0.4M NaCl, 0.02M Tris pH 7.5, 0.1 mM MCl₂, 0.5% 2-mercaptoethanol, 1.2 mM PMSF, for 30 min at 4° C., as described by von Kries et al. (1991) Cell 64:123-135. The intermediate filament-rich pellet then was removed after centrifugation for 90 min at 40K rpm in a Beckman 70.1 Ti rotor. The supernatant remaining is enriched in MT1 protein with little cytokeratin contamination.

MT1-specific antibodies were produced by standard procedures. Specifically, Balb/c by J mice (Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Me.) were injected intraperitoneally with purified Caski NM protein every 2 weeks for a total of 16 weeks. The mice were injected with a single boost 4 days prior to sacrifice and removal of the spleen. Freund's complete adjuvant was used in the first injection, incomplete Freund's in the second injection; subsequent injections were made with saline. Spleen cells were fused with the SP2/O-Ag14 mouse myeloma line (ATCC, Rockville, Md.) using the standard fusion methodologies well known in the art. Hybridomas producing antibodies that reacted with nuclear matrix proteins were cloned and grown as ascites. MT1 specificity was assessed both by immunoflourescence spectroscopy and Western blot analysis.

The cDNA clones for MT1 were obtained from a Lambda ZAP expression library (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.). Library screening was carried out according to the manufacturer's instructions. Briefly, a single positive clone containing a 2.45 kb insert was identified and subcloned into pBluescript II vectors (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.) opened at the EcoRI and XhoI cloning sites. The resulting plasmid, pMT1, was sequenced directly and further subcloned to produce the MT1 fusion protein (see below).

The cDNA sequences were obtained using the standard dideoxy method described in the art. Double stranded sequencing was done utilizing the pMT1 vector primed with appropriate primers according to manufacturer's instructions (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.). Internal sequences were obtained using synthetic primers, created based on the identified sequence.

The entire nucleotide sequence and predicted amino acid sequence for MT1 are shown in Seq. ID No. 1. The cDNA clone retains a polyadenylation signal a putative initiation codon, a continuous open reading frame and codon utilization consistent with a human gene. The predicted amino acid sequence of MT1 consists of 639 amino acids encoding a protein of 70.5 kD with a pI of 5.47. The primary structure, as predicted by the Chou-Fasman algorithm (Chou and Fasman, (1978) Adv. Enzymol. Relat. Areas Mol. Biol. 47:145-148), consists of 72% alpha helix of which 56% is extended helix.

The primary structure of MT1, represented in FIG. 1, contains 27 proline residues which generally occur in pairs or triplets throughout the molecule. The proline distribution within the sequence is illustrated in FIG. 1A, where diamonds represent the proline residues. Proline pairs and triplets are indicted by stacked diamonds. At the N terminus, a 40 amino acid stretch contains a cluster of 8 prolines (residues 42-81, Seq. ID No. 1) that occur as pairs separated by 3 or fewer amino acids. A similar proline-rich region occurs in the C terminus of MT1 (residues 551-563) where 6 prolines occur in a 13 amino acid stretch. Both proline-rich regions likely lie on the protein surface, based on probability calculations determined by the technique of Emini et al. (1985) J. Virol. 55:836-839. The high proline density also may explain the anomalous apparent molecular weight of the protein as determined by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. As described above, the predicted molecular weight for MT1, calculated from the amino acid sequence, is 70.1 kD. However, as described below, both the natural-sourced and recombinant protein migrate as a 90 kD protein on an SDS polyacrylamide gel. Alternatively, it is also possible that the molecular weight variation may result from some post-translational modification achievable in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.

Between the two proline-rich termini, MT1 displays a sequence consistent with a region of extended alpha helix structure, indicated by the hatched structure in FIG. 1B. The extended helix is interrupted in 4 places by short helix-distorting amino acidustretches that usually include a pair of proline residues. A preliminary hypothesis as to the structure of MT1 based on these theoretical calculations is that the molecule consists of an extended rod that is bounded on either end by a globular, proline-rich domain.

Analysis of all available sequence databases indicates that MT1 has a novel sequence that bears no significant homology to any known protein. In addition, the sequence appears to lack any known, identifiable DNA binding motif such as the leucine zipper motif.

The cloned MT1 DNA was used to perform standard Northern blot analysis of total and poly A+ RNA from ME180 cells, using standard procedures and 15 μg RNA. After blotting and hybridization with ³² P-labelled pMT1 DNA, a single mRNA band was detected in the poly A+ fraction. This band was not apparent in the total RNA lane after a 48 h exposure of the autoradiogram, indicating that the MT1 message is a low abundance species. Northern blot analysis indicates that the MT1 protein is translated from a single mRNA. Northern blot analysis also indicates that the MT1 RNA includes approximately 500 bp 5' of the protein-coding sequence presented in Seq. ID No. 1. This upstream sequence may represent one or more untranslated sequences and/or may encode additional protein coding sequences.

A fusion protein for MT1 was obtained using the insert from the pMT1 construct described above and in Seq. ID No. 1, and the pMAL expression system (New England Biolabs Inc., Beverly, Mass.). In this system the gene of interest (MT1) is cloned into the pMal-c vector (New England Biolabs Inc., Beverly, Mass.) and the vector transfected into E. coli and expressed to produce a fusion protein containing both the protein of interest and the maltose binding protein. The maltose binding protein allows the fusion protein to be selectively purified in the presence of maltose and can be subsequently cleaved by proteolytic clavage with Factor Xa to yield intact, recombinant MT1 protein. Here, MT1 cDNA was cloned into the pMAL-c vector such that the initiation AUG codon was directly continuous with the 5' terminus of the maltose binding protein. After proteolytic cleavage with factor Xa the resulting MT1 fusion protein retains the complete amino acid sequence encoded by the MT1 cDNA with no additional amino acids. All experimental details of the pMAL system were carried out according to the manufacturer's instructions.

As described above, both the natural-sourced and recombinantly produced protein have an electrophoretic mobility consistent with an apparent molecular weight of about 90 kD on SDS-PAGE. In addition, the pI of both proteins is equivalent (5.4) and consistent with the predicted pI as calculated from the amino acid sequence. Peptide mapping of both proteins by cleavage at cysteine residues with 2-nitro-5-thiocyanobenzoic acid (NTCB), following the method of Leto and Marchesi (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259:4603-4049, yields equivalent peptide fragments which share the same MT1 cross reactivity by Western blot analysis. Moreover, the number and size of the peptide fragments produced are consistent with those predicted from the proposed MT1 amino acid sequence.

MT2

Like MT1, MT2 expression levels are enhanced significantly in malignant cells, as determined by serum assays.

Following the same general procedure as for MT1, a composition selectively enriched for MT2 was obtained from ME-180 cells (cervical carcinoma cells, from ATCC, Rockville, Md.), and MT2-specific antibodies prepared. These antibodies then were used to obtained a partial cDNA clone for MT2, by screening a lambda ZAP expression library, as for MT-1. The partial clone retrieved then was subcloned into a pBluescript II vector (pMT2) and the MT2 cDNA sequenced using standard techniques. The sequenced DNA, which corresponds to residues 1366 to 2865 of Seq. ID No. 3, then was analyzed to determine the reading frame and encoded amino acid sequence. The complete coding sequence subsequently was determined and is presented in Seq. ID No. 3. (Compton et al. (1992) J. Cell. Biol. 116:1395-1408). The nucleotide sequence and predicted amino acid sequence for MT2 are described in Seq. ID No. 3.

The primary structure of MT2 is represented schematically in FIG. 2: The protein appears to comprise at least 6 helical regions separated by proline pairs, (See FIGS. 2A and B.) The primary structure may allow the protein to form a coiled-coil structure in solution. As for FIG. 1, prolines are indicated by diamonds and helices by hatched boxes. In addition, both the N and C termini of MT2 appear to fold as globular domains (Compton et al. (1992) J. Cell Biol. 116: 1395-1408.)

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

    __________________________________________________________________________     SEQUENCE LISTING                                                               (1) GENERAL INFORMATION:                                                       (iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 6                                                   (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:1:                                               (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 2360 base pairs                                                    (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA                                                       (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:                                                          (A) ORGANISM: HOMO SAPIENS                                                     (F) TISSUE TYPE: CERVIX TUMOR                                                  (ix) FEATURE:                                                                  (A) NAME/KEY: CDS                                                              (B) LOCATION: 94..2010                                                         (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:1:                                        GAGATGGTTCTTGGTCCTGCAGCTTATAATGTTCCATTGCCAAAGAAATCGATTCAGTCG60                 GGTCCACTAAAAATCTCTAGTGTATCAGAAGTAATGAAAGAATCTAAACAGCCT114                      MetLysGluSerLysGlnPro                                                          15                                                                             GCCTCACAACTCCAAAAACAAAAGGGAGATACTCCAGCTTCAGCAACA162                            AlaSerGlnLeuGlnLysGlnLysGlyAspThrProAlaSerAlaThr                               101520                                                                         GCACCTACAGAAGCGGCTCAAATTATTTCTGCAGCAGGTGATACCCTG210                            AlaProThrGluAlaAlaGlnIleIleSerAlaAlaGlyAspThrLeu                               253035                                                                         TCGGTCCCAGCCCCTGCAGTTCAGCCTGAGGAATCTTTAAAAACTGAT258                            SerValProAlaProAlaValGlnProGluGluSerLeuLysThrAsp                               40455055                                                                       CACCCTGAAATTGGTGAAGGAAAACCCACACCTGCACTTTCAGAAGCA306                            HisProGluIleGlyGluGlyLysProThrProAlaLeuSerGluAla                               606570                                                                         TCCTCATCTTCTATAAGGGAGCGACCACCTGAAGAAGTTGCAGCTCGC354                            SerSerSerSerIleArgGluArgProProGluGluValAlaAlaArg                               758085                                                                         CTTGCACAACAGGAAAAACAAGAACAAGTTAAAATTGAGTCTCTAGCC402                            LeuAlaGlnGlnGluLysGlnGluGlnValLysIleGluSerLeuAla                               9095100                                                                        AAGAGCTTAGAAGATGCTCTGAGGCAAACTGCAAGTGTCACTCTGCAG450                            LysSerLeuGluAspAlaLeuArgGlnThrAlaSerValThrLeuGln                               105110115                                                                      GCTATTGCAGCTCAGAATGCTGCGGTCCAGGCTGTCAATGCACACTCC498                            AlaIleAlaAlaGlnAsnAlaAlaValGlnAlaValAsnAlaHisSer                               120125130135                                                                   AACATATTGAAAGCCGCCATGGACAATTCTGAGATTGCAGGCGAGAAG546                            AsnIleLeuLysAlaAlaMetAspAsnSerGluIleAlaGlyGluLys                               140145150                                                                      AAATCTGCTCAGTGGCGCACAGTGGAGGGTGCATTGAAGGAACGCAGA594                            LysSerAlaGlnTrpArgThrValGluGlyAlaLeuLysGluArgArg                               155160165                                                                      AAGGCAGTAGATGAAGCTGCCGATGCCCTTCTCAAAGCCAAAGAAGAG642                            LysAlaValAspGluAlaAlaAspAlaLeuLeuLysAlaLysGluGlu                               170175180                                                                      TTAGAGAAGATGAAAAGTGTGATTGAAAATGCAAAGAAAAAAGAGGTT690                            LeuGluLysMetLysSerValIleGluAsnAlaLysLysLysGluVal                               185190195                                                                      GCTGGGGCCAAGCCTCATATAACTGCTGCAGAGGGTAAACTTCACAAC738                            AlaGlyAlaLysProHisIleThrAlaAlaGluGlyLysLeuHisAsn                               200205210215                                                                   ATGATAGTTGATCTGGATAATGTGGTCAAAAAGGTCCAAGCAGCTCAG786                            MetIleValAspLeuAspAsnValValLysLysValGlnAlaAlaGln                               220225230                                                                      TCTGAGGCTAAGGTTGTATCTCAGTATCATGAGCTGGTGGTCCAAGCT834                            SerGluAlaLysValValSerGlnTyrHisGluLeuValValGlnAla                               235240245                                                                      CGGGATGACTTTAAACGAGAGCTGGACAGTATTACTCCAGAAGTCCTT882                            ArgAspAspPheLysArgGluLeuAspSerIleThrProGluValLeu                               250255260                                                                      CCTGGGTGGAAAGGAATGAGTGTTTCAGACTTAGCTGACAAGCTCTCT930                            ProGlyTrpLysGlyMetSerValSerAspLeuAlaAspLysLeuSer                               265270275                                                                      ACTGATGATCTGAACTCCCTCATTGCTCATGCACATCGTCGTATTGAT978                            ThrAspAspLeuAsnSerLeuIleAlaHisAlaHisArgArgIleAsp                               280285290295                                                                   CAGCTGAACAGAGAGCTGGCAGAACAGAAGGCCACCGAAAAGCAGCAC1026                           GlnLeuAsnArgGluLeuAlaGluGlnLysAlaThrGluLysGlnHis                               300305310                                                                      ATCACGTTAGCCTTGGAGAAACAAAAGCTGGAAGAAAAGCGGGCATTT1074                           IleThrLeuAlaLeuGluLysGlnLysLeuGluGluLysArgAlaPhe                               315320325                                                                      GACTCTGCAGTAGCAAAAGCATTAGAACATCACAGAAGTGAAATACAG1122                           AspSerAlaValAlaLysAlaLeuGluHisHisArgSerGluIleGln                               330335340                                                                      GCTGAACAGGACAGAAAGATAGAAGAAGTCAGAGATGCCATGGAAAAT1170                           AlaGluGlnAspArgLysIleGluGluValArgAspAlaMetGluAsn                               345350355                                                                      GAAATGAGAACCCCTTCGCCGACAGCAGCTGCCCACACTGATCACTTG1218                           GluMetArgThrProSerProThrAlaAlaAlaHisThrAspHisLeu                               360365370375                                                                   CGAGATGTCCTTAGGGTACAAGAACAGGAATTGAAGTCTGAATTTGAG1266                           ArgAspValLeuArgValGlnGluGlnGluLeuLysSerGluPheGlu                               380385390                                                                      CAGAACCTGTCTGAGAAACTCTCTGAACAAGAATTACAATTTCGTCGT1314                           GlnAsnLeuSerGluLysLeuSerGluGlnGluLeuGlnPheArgArg                               395400405                                                                      CTCAGTCAAGAGCAAGTTGACAACTTTACTCTGGATATAAATACTGCC1362                           LeuSerGlnGluGlnValAspAsnPheThrLeuAspIleAsnThrAla                               410415420                                                                      TATGCCAGACTCAGAGGAATCGAACAGGCTGTTCAGAGCCATGCAGTT1410                           TyrAlaArgLeuArgGlyIleGluGlnAlaValGlnSerHisAlaVal                               425430435                                                                      GCTGAAGAGGAAGCCAGAAAAGCCCACCAACTCTGGCTTTCAGTGGAG1458                           AlaGluGluGluAlaArgLysAlaHisGlnLeuTrpLeuSerValGlu                               440445450455                                                                   GCATTAAAGTACAGCATGAAGACCTCATCTGCAGAAACACCTACTATC1506                           AlaLeuLysTyrSerMetLysThrSerSerAlaGluThrProThrIle                               460465470                                                                      CCGCTGGGTAGTGCGGTTGAGGCCATCAAAGCCAACTGTTCTGATAAT1554                           ProLeuGlySerAlaValGluAlaIleLysAlaAsnCysSerAspAsn                               475480485                                                                      GAATTCACCCAAGCTTTAACCGCAGCTATCCCTCCAGAGTCCCTGACC1602                           GluPheThrGlnAlaLeuThrAlaAlaIleProProGluSerLeuThr                               490495500                                                                      CGTGGGGTGTACAGTGAAGAGACCCTTAGAGCCCGTTTCTATGCTGTT1650                           ArgGlyValTyrSerGluGluThrLeuArgAlaArgPheTyrAlaVal                               505510515                                                                      CAAAAACTGGCCCGAAGGGTAGCAATGATTGATGAAACCAGAAATAGC1698                           GlnLysLeuAlaArgArgValAlaMetIleAspGluThrArgAsnSer                               520525530535                                                                   TTGTACCAGTACTTCCTCTCCTACCTACAGTCCCTGCTCCTATTCCCA1746                           LeuTyrGlnTyrPheLeuSerTyrLeuGlnSerLeuLeuLeuPhePro                               540545550                                                                      CCTCAGCAACTGAAGCCGCCCCCAGAGCTCTGCCCTGAGGATATAAAC1794                           ProGlnGlnLeuLysProProProGluLeuCysProGluAspIleAsn                               555560565                                                                      ACATTTAAATTACTGTCATATGCTTCCTATTGCATTGAGCATGGTGAT1842                           ThrPheLysLeuLeuSerTyrAlaSerTyrCysIleGluHisGlyAsp                               570575580                                                                      CTGGAGCTAGCAGCAAAGTTTGTCAATCAGCTGAAGGGGGAATCCAGA1890                           LeuGluLeuAlaAlaLysPheValAsnGlnLeuLysGlyGluSerArg                               585590595                                                                      CGAGTGGCACAGGACTGGCTGAAGGAAGCCCGAATGACCCTAGAAACG1938                           ArgValAlaGlnAspTrpLeuLysGluAlaArgMetThrLeuGluThr                               600605610615                                                                   AAACAGATAGTGGAAATCCTGACAGCATATGCCAGCGCCGTAGGAATA1986                           LysGlnIleValGluIleLeuThrAlaTyrAlaSerAlaValGlyIle                               620625630                                                                      GGAACCACTCAGGTGCAGCCAGAGTGAGGTTTAGGAAGATTTTCATAAAGTCAT2040                     GlyThrThrGlnValGlnProGlu                                                       635                                                                            ATTTCATGTCAAAGGAAATCAGCAGTGATAGATGAAGGGTTCGCAGCGAGAGTCCCGGAC2100               TTGTCTAGAAATGAGCAGGTTTACAAGTACTGTTCTAAATGTTAACACCTGTTGCATTTA2160               TATTCTTTCCATTTGCTATCATGTCAGTGAACGCCAGGAGTGCTTTCTTTGCAACTTGTG2220               TAACATTTTCTGTTTTTTCAGGTTTTACTGATGAGGCTTGTGAGGCCAATCAAAATAATG2280               TTTGTGATCTCTACTACTGTTGATTTTGCCCTCGGAGCAAACTGAATAAAGCAACAAGAT2340               GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA2360                                                       (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:2:                                               (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 639 amino acids                                                    (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein                                                    (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:2:                                        MetLysGluSerLysGlnProAlaSerGlnLeuGlnLysGlnLysGly                               151015                                                                         AspThrProAlaSerAlaThrAlaProThrGluAlaAlaGlnIleIle                               202530                                                                         SerAlaAlaGlyAspThrLeuSerValProAlaProAlaValGlnPro                               354045                                                                         GluGluSerLeuLysThrAspHisProGluIleGlyGluGlyLysPro                               505560                                                                         ThrProAlaLeuSerGluAlaSerSerSerSerIleArgGluArgPro                               65707580                                                                       ProGluGluValAlaAlaArgLeuAlaGlnGlnGluLysGlnGluGln                               859095                                                                         ValLysIleGluSerLeuAlaLysSerLeuGluAspAlaLeuArgGln                               100105110                                                                      ThrAlaSerValThrLeuGlnAlaIleAlaAlaGlnAsnAlaAlaVal                               115120125                                                                      GlnAlaValAsnAlaHisSerAsnIleLeuLysAlaAlaMetAspAsn                               130135140                                                                      SerGluIleAlaGlyGluLysLysSerAlaGlnTrpArgThrValGlu                               145150155160                                                                   GlyAlaLeuLysGluArgArgLysAlaValAspGluAlaAlaAspAla                               165170175                                                                      LeuLeuLysAlaLysGluGluLeuGluLysMetLysSerValIleGlu                               180185190                                                                      AsnAlaLysLysLysGluValAlaGlyAlaLysProHisIleThrAla                               195200205                                                                      AlaGluGlyLysLeuHisAsnMetIleValAspLeuAspAsnValVal                               210215220                                                                      LysLysValGlnAlaAlaGlnSerGluAlaLysValValSerGlnTyr                               225230235240                                                                   HisGluLeuValValGlnAlaArgAspAspPheLysArgGluLeuAsp                               245250255                                                                      SerIleThrProGluValLeuProGlyTrpLysGlyMetSerValSer                               260265270                                                                      AspLeuAlaAspLysLeuSerThrAspAspLeuAsnSerLeuIleAla                               275280285                                                                      HisAlaHisArgArgIleAspGlnLeuAsnArgGluLeuAlaGluGln                               290295300                                                                      LysAlaThrGluLysGlnHisIleThrLeuAlaLeuGluLysGlnLys                               305310315320                                                                   LeuGluGluLysArgAlaPheAspSerAlaValAlaLysAlaLeuGlu                               325330335                                                                      HisHisArgSerGluIleGlnAlaGluGlnAspArgLysIleGluGlu                               340345350                                                                      ValArgAspAlaMetGluAsnGluMetArgThrProSerProThrAla                               355360365                                                                      AlaAlaHisThrAspHisLeuArgAspValLeuArgValGlnGluGln                               370375380                                                                      GluLeuLysSerGluPheGluGlnAsnLeuSerGluLysLeuSerGlu                               385390395400                                                                   GlnGluLeuGlnPheArgArgLeuSerGlnGluGlnValAspAsnPhe                               405410415                                                                      ThrLeuAspIleAsnThrAlaTyrAlaArgLeuArgGlyIleGluGln                               420425430                                                                      AlaValGlnSerHisAlaValAlaGluGluGluAlaArgLysAlaHis                               435440445                                                                      GlnLeuTrpLeuSerValGluAlaLeuLysTyrSerMetLysThrSer                               450455460                                                                      SerAlaGluThrProThrIleProLeuGlySerAlaValGluAlaIle                               465470475480                                                                   LysAlaAsnCysSerAspAsnGluPheThrGlnAlaLeuThrAlaAla                               485490495                                                                      IleProProGluSerLeuThrArgGlyValTyrSerGluGluThrLeu                               500505510                                                                      ArgAlaArgPheTyrAlaValGlnLysLeuAlaArgArgValAlaMet                               515520525                                                                      IleAspGluThrArgAsnSerLeuTyrGlnTyrPheLeuSerTyrLeu                               530535540                                                                      GlnSerLeuLeuLeuPheProProGlnGlnLeuLysProProProGlu                               545550555560                                                                   LeuCysProGluAspIleAsnThrPheLysLeuLeuSerTyrAlaSer                               565570575                                                                      TyrCysIleGluHisGlyAspLeuGluLeuAlaAlaLysPheValAsn                               580585590                                                                      GlnLeuLysGlyGluSerArgArgValAlaGlnAspTrpLeuLysGlu                               595600605                                                                      AlaArgMetThrLeuGluThrLysGlnIleValGluIleLeuThrAla                               610615620                                                                      TyrAlaSerAlaValGlyIleGlyThrThrGlnValGlnProGlu                                  625630635                                                                      (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:3:                                               (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 6306 base pairs                                                    (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA                                                       (ix) FEATURE:                                                                  (A) NAME/KEY: CDS                                                              (B) LOCATION: 1..6306                                                          (x) PUBLICATION INFORMATION:                                                   (A) AUTHORS: COMPTON, DUANE A                                                  SZILAK, ILYA                                                                   CLEVELAND, DON W                                                               (B) TITLE: PRIMARY STRUCTURE OF NUMA, AN INTRANUCLEAR                          PROTEIN THAT DEFINES A NOVEL PATHWAY FOR                                       SEGREGATION OF PROTEINS AT MITOSIS                                             (C) JOURNAL: J. Cell Biol.                                                     (D) VOLUME: 116                                                                (F) PAGES: 1395-1408                                                           (G) DATE: 1992                                                                 (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:3:                                        ATGACACTCCACGCCACCCGGGGGGCTGCACTCCTCTCTTGGGTGAAC48                             MetThrLeuHisAlaThrArgGlyAlaAlaLeuLeuSerTrpValAsn                               151015                                                                         AGTCTACACGTGGCTGACCCTGTGGAGGCTGTGCTGCAGCTCCAGGAC96                             SerLeuHisValAlaAspProValGluAlaValLeuGlnLeuGlnAsp                               202530                                                                         TGCAGCATCTTCATCAAGATCATTGACAGAATCCATGGCACTGAAGAG144                            CysSerIlePheIleLysIleIleAspArgIleHisGlyThrGluGlu                               354045                                                                         GGACAGCAAATCTTGAAGCAGCCGGTGTCAGAGAGACTGGACTTTGTG192                            GlyGlnGlnIleLeuLysGlnProValSerGluArgLeuAspPheVal                               505560                                                                         TGCAGTTTTCTGCAGAAAAATCGAAAACATCCCTCTTCCCCAGAATGC240                            CysSerPheLeuGlnLysAsnArgLysHisProSerSerProGluCys                               65707580                                                                       CTGGTATCTGCACAGAAGGTGCTAGAGGGATCAGAGCTGGAACTGGCG288                            LeuValSerAlaGlnLysValLeuGluGlySerGluLeuGluLeuAla                               859095                                                                         AAGATGACCATGCTGCTCTTATACCACTCTACCATGAGCTCCAAAAGT336                            LysMetThrMetLeuLeuLeuTyrHisSerThrMetSerSerLysSer                               100105110                                                                      CCCAGGGACTGGGAACAGTTTGAATATAAAATTCAGGCTGAGTTGGCT384                            ProArgAspTrpGluGlnPheGluTyrLysIleGlnAlaGluLeuAla                               115120125                                                                      GTCATTCTTAAATTTGTGCTGGACCATGAGGACGGGCTAAACCTTAAT432                            ValIleLeuLysPheValLeuAspHisGluAspGlyLeuAsnLeuAsn                               130135140                                                                      GAGGACCTAGAGAACTTCCTACAGAAAGCTCCTGTGCCTTCTACCTGT480                            GluAspLeuGluAsnPheLeuGlnLysAlaProValProSerThrCys                               145150155160                                                                   TCTAGCACATTCCCTGAAGAGCTCTCCCCACCTAGCCACCAGGCCAAG528                            SerSerThrPheProGluGluLeuSerProProSerHisGlnAlaLys                               165170175                                                                      AGGGAGATTCGCTTCCTAGAGCTACAGAAGGTTGCCTCCTCTTCCAGT576                            ArgGluIleArgPheLeuGluLeuGlnLysValAlaSerSerSerSer                               180185190                                                                      GGGAACAACTTTCTCTCAGGTTCTCCAGCTTCTCCCATGGGTGATATC624                            GlyAsnAsnPheLeuSerGlySerProAlaSerProMetGlyAspIle                               195200205                                                                      CTGCAGACCCCACAGTTCCAGATGAGACGGCTGAAGAAGCAGCTTGCT672                            LeuGlnThrProGlnPheGlnMetArgArgLeuLysLysGlnLeuAla                               210215220                                                                      GATGAGAGAAGTAATAGGGATGAGCTGGAGCTGGAGCTAGCTGAGAAC720                            AspGluArgSerAsnArgAspGluLeuGluLeuGluLeuAlaGluAsn                               225230235240                                                                   CGCAAGCTCCTCACCGAGAAGGATGCACAGATAGCCATGATGCAGCAG768                            ArgLysLeuLeuThrGluLysAspAlaGlnIleAlaMetMetGlnGln                               245250255                                                                      CGCATTGACCGCCTAGCCCTGCTGAATGAGAAGCAGGCGGCCAGCCCA816                            ArgIleAspArgLeuAlaLeuLeuAsnGluLysGlnAlaAlaSerPro                               260265270                                                                      CTGGAGCCCAAGGAGCTTGAGGAGCTGCGTGACAAGAATGAGAGCCTT864                            LeuGluProLysGluLeuGluGluLeuArgAspLysAsnGluSerLeu                               275280285                                                                      ACCATGCGGCTGCATGAAACCCTGAAGCAGTGCCAGGACCTGAAGACA912                            ThrMetArgLeuHisGluThrLeuLysGlnCysGlnAspLeuLysThr                               290295300                                                                      GAGAAGAGCCAGATGGATCGCAAAATCAACCAGCTTTCGGAGGAGAAT960                            GluLysSerGlnMetAspArgLysIleAsnGlnLeuSerGluGluAsn                               305310315320                                                                   GGAGACCTTTCCTTTAAGCTGCGGGAGTTTGCCAGTCATCTGCAGCAG1008                           GlyAspLeuSerPheLysLeuArgGluPheAlaSerHisLeuGlnGln                               325330335                                                                      CTACAGGATGCCCTCAATGAGCTGACGGAGGAGCACAGCAAGGCCACT1056                           LeuGlnAspAlaLeuAsnGluLeuThrGluGluHisSerLysAlaThr                               340345350                                                                      CAGGAGTGGCTAGAGAAGCAGGCCCAGCTGGAGAAGGAGCTCAGCGCA1104                           GlnGluTrpLeuGluLysGlnAlaGlnLeuGluLysGluLeuSerAla                               355360365                                                                      GCCCTGCAGGACAAGAAATGCCTTGAAGAGAAGAACGAAATCCTTCAG1152                           AlaLeuGlnAspLysLysCysLeuGluGluLysAsnGluIleLeuGln                               370375380                                                                      GGAAAACTTTCACAGCTGGAAGAACACTTGTCCCAGCTGCAGGATAAC1200                           GlyLysLeuSerGlnLeuGluGluHisLeuSerGlnLeuGlnAspAsn                               385390395400                                                                   CCACCCCAGGAGAAGGGCGAGGTGCTGGGTGATGTCTTGCAGCTGGAA1248                           ProProGlnGluLysGlyGluValLeuGlyAspValLeuGlnLeuGlu                               405410415                                                                      ACCTTGAAGCAAGAGGCAGCCACTCTTGCTGCAAACAACACACAGCTC1296                           ThrLeuLysGlnGluAlaAlaThrLeuAlaAlaAsnAsnThrGlnLeu                               420425430                                                                      CAAGCCAGGGTAGAGATGCTGGAGACTGAGCGAGGCCAGCAGGAAGCC1344                           GlnAlaArgValGluMetLeuGluThrGluArgGlyGlnGlnGluAla                               435440445                                                                      AAGCTGCTTGCTGAGCGGGGCCACTTCGAAGAAGAAAAGCAGCAGCTG1392                           LysLeuLeuAlaGluArgGlyHisPheGluGluGluLysGlnGlnLeu                               450455460                                                                      TCTAGCCTGATCACTGACCTGCAGAGCTCCATCTCCAACCTCAGCCAG1440                           SerSerLeuIleThrAspLeuGlnSerSerIleSerAsnLeuSerGln                               465470475480                                                                   GCCAAGGAAGAGCTGGAGCAGGCCTCCCAGGCTCATGGGGCCCGGTTG1488                           AlaLysGluGluLeuGluGlnAlaSerGlnAlaHisGlyAlaArgLeu                               485490495                                                                      ACTGCCCAGGTGGCCTCTCTGACCTCTGAGCTCACCACACTCAATGCC1536                           ThrAlaGlnValAlaSerLeuThrSerGluLeuThrThrLeuAsnAla                               500505510                                                                      ACCATCCAGCAACAGGATCAAGAACTGGCTGGCCTGAAGCAGCAGGCC1584                           ThrIleGlnGlnGlnAspGlnGluLeuAlaGlyLeuLysGlnGlnAla                               515520525                                                                      AAAGAGAAGCAGGCCCAGCTAGCACAGACCCTCCAACAGCAAGAACAG1632                           LysGluLysGlnAlaGlnLeuAlaGlnThrLeuGlnGlnGlnGluGln                               530535540                                                                      GCCTCCCAGGGCCTCCGCCACCAGGTGGAGCAGCTAAGCAGTAGCCTG1680                           AlaSerGlnGlyLeuArgHisGlnValGluGlnLeuSerSerSerLeu                               545550555560                                                                   AAGCAGAAGGAGCAGCAGTTGAAGGAGGTAGCGGAGAAGCAGGAGGCA1728                           LysGlnLysGluGlnGlnLeuLysGluValAlaGluLysGlnGluAla                               565570575                                                                      ACTAGGCAGGACCATGCCCAGCAACTGGCCACTGCTGCAGAGGAGCGA1776                           ThrArgGlnAspHisAlaGlnGlnLeuAlaThrAlaAlaGluGluArg                               580585590                                                                      GAGGCCTCCTTAAGGGAGCGGGATGCGGCTCTCAAGCAGCTGGAGGCA1824                           GluAlaSerLeuArgGluArgAspAlaAlaLeuLysGlnLeuGluAla                               595600605                                                                      CTGGAGAAGGAGAAGGCTGCCAAGCTGGAGATTCTGCAGCAGCAACTT1872                           LeuGluLysGluLysAlaAlaLysLeuGluIleLeuGlnGlnGlnLeu                               610615620                                                                      CAGGTGGCTAATGAAGCCCGGGACAGTGCCCAGACCTCAGTGACACAG1920                           GlnValAlaAsnGluAlaArgAspSerAlaGlnThrSerValThrGln                               625630635640                                                                   GCCCAGCGGGAGAAGGCAGAGCTGAGCCGGAAGGTGGAGGAACTCCAG1968                           AlaGlnArgGluLysAlaGluLeuSerArgLysValGluGluLeuGln                               645650655                                                                      GCCTGTGTTGAGACAGCCCGCCAGGAACAGCATGAGGCCCAGGCCCAG2016                           AlaCysValGluThrAlaArgGlnGluGlnHisGluAlaGlnAlaGln                               660665670                                                                      GTTGCAGAGCTAGAGTTGCAGCTGCGGTCTGAGCAGCAAAAAGCAACT2064                           ValAlaGluLeuGluLeuGlnLeuArgSerGluGlnGlnLysAlaThr                               675680685                                                                      GAGAAAGAAAGGGTGGCCCAGGAGAAGGACCAGCTCCAGGAGCAGCTC2112                           GluLysGluArgValAlaGlnGluLysAspGlnLeuGlnGluGlnLeu                               690695700                                                                      CAGGCCCTCAAAGAGTCCTTGAAGGTCACCAAGGGCAGCCTTGAAGAG2160                           GlnAlaLeuLysGluSerLeuLysValThrLysGlySerLeuGluGlu                               705710715720                                                                   GAGAAGCGCAGGGCTGCAGATGCCCTGGAAGAGCAGCAGCGTTGTATC2208                           GluLysArgArgAlaAlaAspAlaLeuGluGluGlnGlnArgCysIle                               725730735                                                                      TCTGAGCTGAAGGCAGAGACCCGAAGCCTGGTGGAGCAGCATAAGCGG2256                           SerGluLeuLysAlaGluThrArgSerLeuValGluGlnHisLysArg                               740745750                                                                      GAACGAAAGGAGCTGGAAGAAGAGAGGGCTGGGCGCAAGGGGCTGGAG2304                           GluArgLysGluLeuGluGluGluArgAlaGlyArgLysGlyLeuGlu                               755760765                                                                      GCTCGATTACTGCAGCTTGGGGAGGCCCATCAGGCTGAGACTGAAGTC2352                           AlaArgLeuLeuGlnLeuGlyGluAlaHisGlnAlaGluThrGluVal                               770775780                                                                      CTGCGGCGGGAGCTGGCAGAGGCCATGGCTGCCCAGCACACAGCTGAG2400                           LeuArgArgGluLeuAlaGluAlaMetAlaAlaGlnHisThrAlaGlu                               785790795800                                                                   AGTGAGTGTGAGCAGCTCGTCAAAGAAGTAGCTGCCTGGCGTGACGGG2448                           SerGluCysGluGlnLeuValLysGluValAlaAlaTrpArgAspGly                               805810815                                                                      TATGAGGATAGCCAGCAAGAGGAGGCACAGTATGGCGCCATGTTCCAG2496                           TyrGluAspSerGlnGlnGluGluAlaGlnTyrGlyAlaMetPheGln                               820825830                                                                      GAACAGCTGATGACTTTGAAGGAGGAATGTGAGAAGGCCCGCCAGGAG2544                           GluGlnLeuMetThrLeuLysGluGluCysGluLysAlaArgGlnGlu                               835840845                                                                      CTGCAGGAGGCAAAGGAGAAGGTGGCAGGCATAGAATCCCACAGCGAG2592                           LeuGlnGluAlaLysGluLysValAlaGlyIleGluSerHisSerGlu                               850855860                                                                      CTCCAGATAAGCCGGCAGCAGAACAAACTAGCTGAGCTCCATGCCAAC2640                           LeuGlnIleSerArgGlnGlnAsnLysLeuAlaGluLeuHisAlaAsn                               865870875880                                                                   CTGGCCAGAGCACTCCAGCAGGTCCAAGAGAAGGAAGTCAGGGCCCAG2688                           LeuAlaArgAlaLeuGlnGlnValGlnGluLysGluValArgAlaGln                               885890895                                                                      AAGCTTGCAGATGACCTCTCCACTCTGCAGGAAAAGATGGCTGCCACC2736                           LysLeuAlaAspAspLeuSerThrLeuGlnGluLysMetAlaAlaThr                               900905910                                                                      AGCAAAGAGGTGGCCCGCTTGGAGACCTTGGTCCGCAAGGCAGGTGAG2784                           SerLysGluValAlaArgLeuGluThrLeuValArgLysAlaGlyGlu                               915920925                                                                      CAGCAGGAAACAGCCTCCCGGGAGTTAGTCAAGGAGCCTGCGAGGGCA2832                           GlnGlnGluThrAlaSerArgGluLeuValLysGluProAlaArgAla                               930935940                                                                      GGAGACAGACAGCCCGAGTGGCTGGAAGAGCAACAGGGACGCCAGTTC2880                           GlyAspArgGlnProGluTrpLeuGluGluGlnGlnGlyArgGlnPhe                               945950955960                                                                   TGCAGCACACAGGCAGCGCTGCAGGCTATGGAGCGGGAGGCAGAGCAG2928                           CysSerThrGlnAlaAlaLeuGlnAlaMetGluArgGluAlaGluGln                               965970975                                                                      ATGGGCAATGAGCTGGAACGGCTGCGGGCCGCGCTGATGGAGAGCCAG2976                           MetGlyAsnGluLeuGluArgLeuArgAlaAlaLeuMetGluSerGln                               980985990                                                                      GGGCAGCAGCAGGAGGAGCGTGGGCAGCAGGAAAGGGAGGTGGCGCGG3024                           GlyGlnGlnGlnGluGluArgGlyGlnGlnGluArgGluValAlaArg                               99510001005                                                                    CTGACCCAGGAGCGGGGCCGTGCCCAGGCTGACCTTGCCCTGGAGAAG3072                           LeuThrGlnGluArgGlyArgAlaGlnAlaAspLeuAlaLeuGluLys                               101010151020                                                                   GCGGCCAGAGCAGAGCTTGAGATGCGGCTGCAGAACGCCCTCAACGAG3120                           AlaAlaArgAlaGluLeuGluMetArgLeuGlnAsnAlaLeuAsnGlu                               1025103010351040                                                               CAGCGTGTGGAGTTCGCTACCCTGCAAGAGGCACTGGCTCATGCCCTG3168                           GlnArgValGluPheAlaThrLeuGlnGluAlaLeuAlaHisAlaLeu                               104510501055                                                                   ACGGAAAAGGAAGGCAAGGACCAGGAGTTGGCCAAGCTTCGTGGTCTG3216                           ThrGluLysGluGlyLysAspGlnGluLeuAlaLysLeuArgGlyLeu                               106010651070                                                                   GAGGCAGCCCAGATAAAAGAGCTGGAGGAACTTCGGCAAACCGTGAAG3264                           GluAlaAlaGlnIleLysGluLeuGluGluLeuArgGlnThrValLys                               107510801085                                                                   CAACTGAAGGAACAGCTGGCTAAGAAAGAAAAGGAGCACGCATCTGGC3312                           GlnLeuLysGluGlnLeuAlaLysLysGluLysGluHisAlaSerGly                               109010951100                                                                   TCAGGAGCCCAATCTGAGGCTGCTGGCAGGACAGAGCCAACAGGCCCC3360                           SerGlyAlaGlnSerGluAlaAlaGlyArgThrGluProThrGlyPro                               1105111011151120                                                               AAGCTGGAAGCACTGCGGGCAGAGGTGAGCAAGCTGGAACAGCAATGC3408                           LysLeuGluAlaLeuArgAlaGluValSerLysLeuGluGlnGlnCys                               112511301135                                                                   CAGAAGCAGCAGGAGCAGGCTGACAGCCTGGAACGCAGCCTCGAGGCT3456                           GlnLysGlnGlnGluGlnAlaAspSerLeuGluArgSerLeuGluAla                               114011451150                                                                   GAGCGGGCCTCCCGGGCTGAGCGGGACAGTGCTCTGGAGACTCTGCAG3504                           GluArgAlaSerArgAlaGluArgAspSerAlaLeuGluThrLeuGln                               115511601165                                                                   GGCCAGTTAGAGGAGAAGGCCCAGGAGCTAGGGCACAGTCAGAGTGCC3552                           GlyGlnLeuGluGluLysAlaGlnGluLeuGlyHisSerGlnSerAla                               117011751180                                                                   TTAGCCTCGGCCCAACGGGAGTTGGCTGCCTTCCGCACCAAGGTACAA3600                           LeuAlaSerAlaGlnArgGluLeuAlaAlaPheArgThrLysValGln                               1185119011951200                                                               GACCACAGCAAGGCTGAAGATGAGTGGAAGGCCCAGGTGGCCCGGGGC3648                           AspHisSerLysAlaGluAspGluTrpLysAlaGlnValAlaArgGly                               120512101215                                                                   CGGCAAGAGGCTGAGAGGAAAAATAGCCTCATCAGCAGCTTGGAGGAG3696                           ArgGlnGluAlaGluArgLysAsnSerLeuIleSerSerLeuGluGlu                               122012251230                                                                   GAGGTGTCCATCCTGAATCGCCAGGTCCTGGAGAAGGAGGGGGAGAGC3744                           GluValSerIleLeuAsnArgGlnValLeuGluLysGluGlyGluSer                               123512401245                                                                   AAGGAGTTGAAGCGGCTGGTGATGGCCGAGTCAGAGAAGAGCCAGAAG3792                           LysGluLeuLysArgLeuValMetAlaGluSerGluLysSerGlnLys                               125012551260                                                                   CTGGAGGAGAGCTGCGCCTGCTGCAGGCAGAGACAGCCAGCAACAGTG3840                           LeuGluGluSerCysAlaCysCysArgGlnArgGlnProAlaThrVal                               1265127012751280                                                               CCAGAGCTGCAGAACGCAGCTCTGCTCTGCGGGAGGAGGTGCAGAGCC3888                           ProGluLeuGlnAsnAlaAlaLeuLeuCysGlyArgArgCysArgAla                               128512901295                                                                   TCCGGGAGGGAGGCTGAGAAACAGCGGGTGGCTTCAGAGAACCTGCGG3936                           SerGlyArgGluAlaGluLysGlnArgValAlaSerGluAsnLeuArg                               130013051310                                                                   CAGGAGCTGACCTCACAGGCTGAGCGTGCGGAGGAGCTGGGCCAAGAA3984                           GlnGluLeuThrSerGlnAlaGluArgAlaGluGluLeuGlyGlnGlu                               131513201325                                                                   TTGAAGGCGTGGCAGGAGAAGTTCTTCCAGAAAGAGCAGGCCCTCTCC4032                           LeuLysAlaTrpGlnGluLysPhePheGlnLysGluGlnAlaLeuSer                               133013351340                                                                   ACCCTGCAGCTCGAGCACACCAGCACACAGGCCCTGGTGAGTGAGCTG4080                           ThrLeuGlnLeuGluHisThrSerThrGlnAlaLeuValSerGluLeu                               1345135013551360                                                               CTGCCAGCTAAGCACCTCTGCCAGCAGCTGCAGGCCGAGCAGGCCGCT4128                           LeuProAlaLysHisLeuCysGlnGlnLeuGlnAlaGluGlnAlaAla                               136513701375                                                                   GCCGAGAAACGCCACCGTGAGGAGCTGGAGCAGAGCAAGCAGGCCGCT4176                           AlaGluLysArgHisArgGluGluLeuGluGlnSerLysGlnAlaAla                               138013851390                                                                   GGGGGACTGCGGGCAGAGCTGCTGCGGGCCCAGCGGGAGCTTGGGGAG4224                           GlyGlyLeuArgAlaGluLeuLeuArgAlaGlnArgGluLeuGlyGlu                               139514001405                                                                   CTGATTCCTCTGCGGCAGAAGGTGGCAGAGCAGGAGCGAACAGCTCAG4272                           LeuIleProLeuArgGlnLysValAlaGluGlnGluArgThrAlaGln                               141014151420                                                                   CAGCTGCGGGCAGAGAAGGCCAGCTATGCAGAGCAGCTGAGCATGCTG4320                           GlnLeuArgAlaGluLysAlaSerTyrAlaGluGlnLeuSerMetLeu                               1425143014351440                                                               AAGAAGGCGCATGGCCTGCTGGCAGAGGAGAACCGGGGGCTGGGTGAG4368                           LysLysAlaHisGlyLeuLeuAlaGluGluAsnArgGlyLeuGlyGlu                               144514501455                                                                   CGGGCCAACCTTGGCCGGCAGTTTCTGGAAGTGGAGTTGGACCAGGCC4416                           ArgAlaAsnLeuGlyArgGlnPheLeuGluValGluLeuAspGlnAla                               146014651470                                                                   CGGGAAAAGTATGTCCAAGAGTTGGCAGCCGTACGTGCTGATGCTGAG4464                           ArgGluLysTyrValGlnGluLeuAlaAlaValArgAlaAspAlaGlu                               147514801485                                                                   ACCCGTCTGGCTGAGGTGCAGCGAGAAGCACAGAGCACTGCCCGGGAG4512                           ThrArgLeuAlaGluValGlnArgGluAlaGlnSerThrAlaArgGlu                               149014951500                                                                   CTGGAGGTGATGACTGCCAAGTATGAGGGTGCCAAGGTCAAGGTCCTG4560                           LeuGluValMetThrAlaLysTyrGluGlyAlaLysValLysValLeu                               1505151015151520                                                               GAGGAGAGGCAGCGGTTCCAGGAAGAGAGGCAGAAACTCACTGCCCAG4608                           GluGluArgGlnArgPheGlnGluGluArgGlnLysLeuThrAlaGln                               152515301535                                                                   GTGGAAGAACTGAGTAAGAAACTGGCTGACTCTGACCAAGCCAGCAAG4656                           ValGluGluLeuSerLysLysLeuAlaAspSerAspGlnAlaSerLys                               154015451550                                                                   GTGCAGCAGCAGAAGCTGAAGGCTGTCCAGGCTCAGGGAGGCGAGAGC4704                           ValGlnGlnGlnLysLeuLysAlaValGlnAlaGlnGlyGlyGluSer                               155515601565                                                                   CAGCAGGAGGCCCAGCGCTTCCAGGCCCAGCTGAATGAACTGCAAGCC4752                           GlnGlnGluAlaGlnArgPheGlnAlaGlnLeuAsnGluLeuGlnAla                               157015751580                                                                   CAGTTGAGCCAGAAGGAGCAGGCAGCTGAGCACTATAAGCTGCAGATG4800                           GlnLeuSerGlnLysGluGlnAlaAlaGluHisTyrLysLeuGlnMet                               1585159015951600                                                               GAGAAAGCCAAAACACATTATGATGCCAAGAAGCAGCAGAACCAAGAG4848                           GluLysAlaLysThrHisTyrAspAlaLysLysGlnGlnAsnGlnGlu                               160516101615                                                                   CTGCAGGAGCAGCTGCGGAGCCTGGAGCAGCTGCAGAAGGAAAACAAA4896                           LeuGlnGluGlnLeuArgSerLeuGluGlnLeuGlnLysGluAsnLys                               162016251630                                                                   GAGCTGCGAGCTGAAGCTGAACGGCTGGGCCATGAGCTACAGCAGGCT4944                           GluLeuArgAlaGluAlaGluArgLeuGlyHisGluLeuGlnGlnAla                               163516401645                                                                   GGGCTGAAGACCAAGGAGGCTGAACAGACCTGCCGCCACCTTACTGCC4992                           GlyLeuLysThrLysGluAlaGluGlnThrCysArgHisLeuThrAla                               165016551660                                                                   CAGGTGCGCAGCCTGGAGGCACAGGTTGCCCATGCAGACCAGCAGCTT5040                           GlnValArgSerLeuGluAlaGlnValAlaHisAlaAspGlnGlnLeu                               1665167016751680                                                               CGAGACCTGGGCAAATTCCAGGTGGCAACTGATGCTTTAAAGAGCCGT5088                           ArgAspLeuGlyLysPheGlnValAlaThrAspAlaLeuLysSerArg                               168516901695                                                                   GAGCCCCAGGCTAAGCCCCAGCTGGACTTGAGTATTGACAGCCTGGAT5136                           GluProGlnAlaLysProGlnLeuAspLeuSerIleAspSerLeuAsp                               170017051710                                                                   CTGAGCTGCGAGGAGGGGACCCCACTCAGTATCACCAGCAAGCTGCCT5184                           LeuSerCysGluGluGlyThrProLeuSerIleThrSerLysLeuPro                               171517201725                                                                   CGTACCCAGCCAGACGGCACCAGCGTCCCTGGAGAACCAGCCTCACCT5232                           ArgThrGlnProAspGlyThrSerValProGlyGluProAlaSerPro                               173017351740                                                                   ATCTCCCAGCGCCTGCCCCCCAAGGTAGAATCCCTGGAGAGTCTCTAC5280                           IleSerGlnArgLeuProProLysValGluSerLeuGluSerLeuTyr                               1745175017551760                                                               TTCACTCCCATCCCTGCTCGGAGTCAGGCCCCCCTGGAGAGCAGCCTG5328                           PheThrProIleProAlaArgSerGlnAlaProLeuGluSerSerLeu                               176517701775                                                                   GACTCCCTGGGAGACGTCTTCCTGGACTCGGGTCGTAAGACCCGCTCC5376                           AspSerLeuGlyAspValPheLeuAspSerGlyArgLysThrArgSer                               178017851790                                                                   GCTCGTCGGCGCACCACGCAGATCATCAACATCACCATGACCAAGAAG5424                           AlaArgArgArgThrThrGlnIleIleAsnIleThrMetThrLysLys                               179518001805                                                                   CTAGATGTGGAAGAGCCAGACAGCGCCAACTCATCGTTCTACAGCACG5472                           LeuAspValGluGluProAspSerAlaAsnSerSerPheTyrSerThr                               181018151820                                                                   CGGTCTGCTCCTGCTTCCCAGGCTAGCCTGCGAGCCACCTCCTCTACT5520                           ArgSerAlaProAlaSerGlnAlaSerLeuArgAlaThrSerSerThr                               1825183018351840                                                               CAGTCTCTAGCTCGCCTGGGTTCTCCCGATTATGGCAACTCAGCCCTG5568                           GlnSerLeuAlaArgLeuGlySerProAspTyrGlyAsnSerAlaLeu                               184518501855                                                                   CTCAGCTTGCCTGGCTACCGCCCCACCACTCGCAGTTCTGCTCGTCGT5616                           LeuSerLeuProGlyTyrArgProThrThrArgSerSerAlaArgArg                               186018651870                                                                   TCCCAGGCCGGGGTGTCCAGTGGGGCCCCTCCAGGAAGGAACAGCTTC5664                           SerGlnAlaGlyValSerSerGlyAlaProProGlyArgAsnSerPhe                               187518801885                                                                   TACATGGGCACTTGCCAGGATGAGCCTGAGCAGCTGGATGACTGGAAC5712                           TyrMetGlyThrCysGlnAspGluProGluGlnLeuAspAspTrpAsn                               189018951900                                                                   CGCATTGCAGAGCTGCAGCAGCGCAATCGAGTGTGCCCCCCACATCTG5760                           ArgIleAlaGluLeuGlnGlnArgAsnArgValCysProProHisLeu                               1905191019151920                                                               AAGACCTGCTATCCCCTGGAGTCCAGGCCTTCCCTGAGCCTGGGCACC5808                           LysThrCysTyrProLeuGluSerArgProSerLeuSerLeuGlyThr                               192519301935                                                                   ATCACAGATGAGGAGATGAAAACTGGAGACCCCCAAGAGACCCTGCGC5856                           IleThrAspGluGluMetLysThrGlyAspProGlnGluThrLeuArg                               194019451950                                                                   CGAGCCAGCATGCAGCCAATCCAGATAGCCGAGGGCACTGGCATCACC5904                           ArgAlaSerMetGlnProIleGlnIleAlaGluGlyThrGlyIleThr                               195519601965                                                                   ACCCGGCAGCAGCGCAAACGGGTCTCCCTAGAGCCCCACCAGGGCCCT5952                           ThrArgGlnGlnArgLysArgValSerLeuGluProHisGlnGlyPro                               197019751980                                                                   GGAACTCCTGAGTCTAAGAAGGCCACCAGCTGTTTCCCACGCCCCATG6000                           GlyThrProGluSerLysLysAlaThrSerCysPheProArgProMet                               1985199019952000                                                               ACTCCCCGAGACCGACATGAAGGGCGCAAACAGAGCACTACTGAGGCC6048                           ThrProArgAspArgHisGluGlyArgLysGlnSerThrThrGluAla                               200520102015                                                                   CAGAAGAAAGCAGCTCCAGCTTCTACTAAACAGGCTGACCGGCGCCAG6096                           GlnLysLysAlaAlaProAlaSerThrLysGlnAlaAspArgArgGln                               202020252030                                                                   TCGATGGCCTTCAGCATCCTCAACACACCCAAGAAGCTAGGGAACAGC6144                           SerMetAlaPheSerIleLeuAsnThrProLysLysLeuGlyAsnSer                               203520402045                                                                   CTTCTGCGGCGGGGAGCCTCAAAGAAGGCCCTGTCCAAGGCTTCCCCC6192                           LeuLeuArgArgGlyAlaSerLysLysAlaLeuSerLysAlaSerPro                               205020552060                                                                   AACACTCGCAGTGGAACCCGCCGTTCTCCGCGCATTGCCACCACCACA6240                           AsnThrArgSerGlyThrArgArgSerProArgIleAlaThrThrThr                               2065207020752080                                                               GCCAGTGCCGCCACTGCTGCCGCCATTGGTGCCACCCCTCGAGCCAAG6288                           AlaSerAlaAlaThrAlaAlaAlaIleGlyAlaThrProArgAlaLys                               208520902095                                                                   GGCAAGGCAAAGCACTAA6306                                                         GlyLysAlaLysHis                                                                2100                                                                           (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:4:                                               (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 2101 amino acids                                                   (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein                                                    (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:4:                                        MetThrLeuHisAlaThrArgGlyAlaAlaLeuLeuSerTrpValAsn                               151015                                                                         SerLeuHisValAlaAspProValGluAlaValLeuGlnLeuGlnAsp                               202530                                                                         CysSerIlePheIleLysIleIleAspArgIleHisGlyThrGluGlu                               354045                                                                         GlyGlnGlnIleLeuLysGlnProValSerGluArgLeuAspPheVal                               505560                                                                         CysSerPheLeuGlnLysAsnArgLysHisProSerSerProGluCys                               65707580                                                                       LeuValSerAlaGlnLysValLeuGluGlySerGluLeuGluLeuAla                               859095                                                                         LysMetThrMetLeuLeuLeuTyrHisSerThrMetSerSerLysSer                               100105110                                                                      ProArgAspTrpGluGlnPheGluTyrLysIleGlnAlaGluLeuAla                               115120125                                                                      ValIleLeuLysPheValLeuAspHisGluAspGlyLeuAsnLeuAsn                               130135140                                                                      GluAspLeuGluAsnPheLeuGlnLysAlaProValProSerThrCys                               145150155160                                                                   SerSerThrPheProGluGluLeuSerProProSerHisGlnAlaLys                               165170175                                                                      ArgGluIleArgPheLeuGluLeuGlnLysValAlaSerSerSerSer                               180185190                                                                      GlyAsnAsnPheLeuSerGlySerProAlaSerProMetGlyAspIle                               195200205                                                                      LeuGlnThrProGlnPheGlnMetArgArgLeuLysLysGlnLeuAla                               210215220                                                                      AspGluArgSerAsnArgAspGluLeuGluLeuGluLeuAlaGluAsn                               225230235240                                                                   ArgLysLeuLeuThrGluLysAspAlaGlnIleAlaMetMetGlnGln                               245250255                                                                      ArgIleAspArgLeuAlaLeuLeuAsnGluLysGlnAlaAlaSerPro                               260265270                                                                      LeuGluProLysGluLeuGluGluLeuArgAspLysAsnGluSerLeu                               275280285                                                                      ThrMetArgLeuHisGluThrLeuLysGlnCysGlnAspLeuLysThr                               290295300                                                                      GluLysSerGlnMetAspArgLysIleAsnGlnLeuSerGluGluAsn                               305310315320                                                                   GlyAspLeuSerPheLysLeuArgGluPheAlaSerHisLeuGlnGln                               325330335                                                                      LeuGlnAspAlaLeuAsnGluLeuThrGluGluHisSerLysAlaThr                               340345350                                                                      GlnGluTrpLeuGluLysGlnAlaGlnLeuGluLysGluLeuSerAla                               355360365                                                                      AlaLeuGlnAspLysLysCysLeuGluGluLysAsnGluIleLeuGln                               370375380                                                                      GlyLysLeuSerGlnLeuGluGluHisLeuSerGlnLeuGlnAspAsn                               385390395400                                                                   ProProGlnGluLysGlyGluValLeuGlyAspValLeuGlnLeuGlu                               405410415                                                                      ThrLeuLysGlnGluAlaAlaThrLeuAlaAlaAsnAsnThrGlnLeu                               420425430                                                                      GlnAlaArgValGluMetLeuGluThrGluArgGlyGlnGlnGluAla                               435440445                                                                      LysLeuLeuAlaGluArgGlyHisPheGluGluGluLysGlnGlnLeu                               450455460                                                                      SerSerLeuIleThrAspLeuGlnSerSerIleSerAsnLeuSerGln                               465470475480                                                                   AlaLysGluGluLeuGluGlnAlaSerGlnAlaHisGlyAlaArgLeu                               485490495                                                                      ThrAlaGlnValAlaSerLeuThrSerGluLeuThrThrLeuAsnAla                               500505510                                                                      ThrIleGlnGlnGlnAspGlnGluLeuAlaGlyLeuLysGlnGlnAla                               515520525                                                                      LysGluLysGlnAlaGlnLeuAlaGlnThrLeuGlnGlnGlnGluGln                               530535540                                                                      AlaSerGlnGlyLeuArgHisGlnValGluGlnLeuSerSerSerLeu                               545550555560                                                                   LysGlnLysGluGlnGlnLeuLysGluValAlaGluLysGlnGluAla                               565570575                                                                      ThrArgGlnAspHisAlaGlnGlnLeuAlaThrAlaAlaGluGluArg                               580585590                                                                      GluAlaSerLeuArgGluArgAspAlaAlaLeuLysGlnLeuGluAla                               595600605                                                                      LeuGluLysGluLysAlaAlaLysLeuGluIleLeuGlnGlnGlnLeu                               610615620                                                                      GlnValAlaAsnGluAlaArgAspSerAlaGlnThrSerValThrGln                               625630635640                                                                   AlaGlnArgGluLysAlaGluLeuSerArgLysValGluGluLeuGln                               645650655                                                                      AlaCysValGluThrAlaArgGlnGluGlnHisGluAlaGlnAlaGln                               660665670                                                                      ValAlaGluLeuGluLeuGlnLeuArgSerGluGlnGlnLysAlaThr                               675680685                                                                      GluLysGluArgValAlaGlnGluLysAspGlnLeuGlnGluGlnLeu                               690695700                                                                      GlnAlaLeuLysGluSerLeuLysValThrLysGlySerLeuGluGlu                               705710715720                                                                   GluLysArgArgAlaAlaAspAlaLeuGluGluGlnGlnArgCysIle                               725730735                                                                      SerGluLeuLysAlaGluThrArgSerLeuValGluGlnHisLysArg                               740745750                                                                      GluArgLysGluLeuGluGluGluArgAlaGlyArgLysGlyLeuGlu                               755760765                                                                      AlaArgLeuLeuGlnLeuGlyGluAlaHisGlnAlaGluThrGluVal                               770775780                                                                      LeuArgArgGluLeuAlaGluAlaMetAlaAlaGlnHisThrAlaGlu                               785790795800                                                                   SerGluCysGluGlnLeuValLysGluValAlaAlaTrpArgAspGly                               805810815                                                                      TyrGluAspSerGlnGlnGluGluAlaGlnTyrGlyAlaMetPheGln                               820825830                                                                      GluGlnLeuMetThrLeuLysGluGluCysGluLysAlaArgGlnGlu                               835840845                                                                      LeuGlnGluAlaLysGluLysValAlaGlyIleGluSerHisSerGlu                               850855860                                                                      LeuGlnIleSerArgGlnGlnAsnLysLeuAlaGluLeuHisAlaAsn                               865870875880                                                                   LeuAlaArgAlaLeuGlnGlnValGlnGluLysGluValArgAlaGln                               885890895                                                                      LysLeuAlaAspAspLeuSerThrLeuGlnGluLysMetAlaAlaThr                               900905910                                                                      SerLysGluValAlaArgLeuGluThrLeuValArgLysAlaGlyGlu                               915920925                                                                      GlnGlnGluThrAlaSerArgGluLeuValLysGluProAlaArgAla                               930935940                                                                      GlyAspArgGlnProGluTrpLeuGluGluGlnGlnGlyArgGlnPhe                               945950955960                                                                   CysSerThrGlnAlaAlaLeuGlnAlaMetGluArgGluAlaGluGln                               965970975                                                                      MetGlyAsnGluLeuGluArgLeuArgAlaAlaLeuMetGluSerGln                               980985990                                                                      GlyGlnGlnGlnGluGluArgGlyGlnGlnGluArgGluValAlaArg                               99510001005                                                                    LeuThrGlnGluArgGlyArgAlaGlnAlaAspLeuAlaLeuGluLys                               101010151020                                                                   AlaAlaArgAlaGluLeuGluMetArgLeuGlnAsnAlaLeuAsnGlu                               1025103010351040                                                               GlnArgValGluPheAlaThrLeuGlnGluAlaLeuAlaHisAlaLeu                               104510501055                                                                   ThrGluLysGluGlyLysAspGlnGluLeuAlaLysLeuArgGlyLeu                               106010651070                                                                   GluAlaAlaGlnIleLysGluLeuGluGluLeuArgGlnThrValLys                               107510801085                                                                   GlnLeuLysGluGlnLeuAlaLysLysGluLysGluHisAlaSerGly                               109010951100                                                                   SerGlyAlaGlnSerGluAlaAlaGlyArgThrGluProThrGlyPro                               1105111011151120                                                               LysLeuGluAlaLeuArgAlaGluValSerLysLeuGluGlnGlnCys                               112511301135                                                                   GlnLysGlnGlnGluGlnAlaAspSerLeuGluArgSerLeuGluAla                               114011451150                                                                   GluArgAlaSerArgAlaGluArgAspSerAlaLeuGluThrLeuGln                               115511601165                                                                   GlyGlnLeuGluGluLysAlaGlnGluLeuGlyHisSerGlnSerAla                               117011751180                                                                   LeuAlaSerAlaGlnArgGluLeuAlaAlaPheArgThrLysValGln                               1185119011951200                                                               AspHisSerLysAlaGluAspGluTrpLysAlaGlnValAlaArgGly                               120512101215                                                                   ArgGlnGluAlaGluArgLysAsnSerLeuIleSerSerLeuGluGlu                               122012251230                                                                   GluValSerIleLeuAsnArgGlnValLeuGluLysGluGlyGluSer                               123512401245                                                                   LysGluLeuLysArgLeuValMetAlaGluSerGluLysSerGlnLys                               125012551260                                                                   LeuGluGluSerCysAlaCysCysArgGlnArgGlnProAlaThrVal                               1265127012751280                                                               ProGluLeuGlnAsnAlaAlaLeuLeuCysGlyArgArgCysArgAla                               128512901295                                                                   SerGlyArgGluAlaGluLysGlnArgValAlaSerGluAsnLeuArg                               130013051310                                                                   GlnGluLeuThrSerGlnAlaGluArgAlaGluGluLeuGlyGlnGlu                               131513201325                                                                   LeuLysAlaTrpGlnGluLysPhePheGlnLysGluGlnAlaLeuSer                               133013351340                                                                   ThrLeuGlnLeuGluHisThrSerThrGlnAlaLeuValSerGluLeu                               1345135013551360                                                               LeuProAlaLysHisLeuCysGlnGlnLeuGlnAlaGluGlnAlaAla                               136513701375                                                                   AlaGluLysArgHisArgGluGluLeuGluGlnSerLysGlnAlaAla                               138013851390                                                                   GlyGlyLeuArgAlaGluLeuLeuArgAlaGlnArgGluLeuGlyGlu                               139514001405                                                                   LeuIleProLeuArgGlnLysValAlaGluGlnGluArgThrAlaGln                               141014151420                                                                   GlnLeuArgAlaGluLysAlaSerTyrAlaGluGlnLeuSerMetLeu                               1425143014351440                                                               LysLysAlaHisGlyLeuLeuAlaGluGluAsnArgGlyLeuGlyGlu                               144514501455                                                                   ArgAlaAsnLeuGlyArgGlnPheLeuGluValGluLeuAspGlnAla                               146014651470                                                                   ArgGluLysTyrValGlnGluLeuAlaAlaValArgAlaAspAlaGlu                               147514801485                                                                   ThrArgLeuAlaGluValGlnArgGluAlaGlnSerThrAlaArgGlu                               149014951500                                                                   LeuGluValMetThrAlaLysTyrGluGlyAlaLysValLysValLeu                               1505151015151520                                                               GluGluArgGlnArgPheGlnGluGluArgGlnLysLeuThrAlaGln                               152515301535                                                                   ValGluGluLeuSerLysLysLeuAlaAspSerAspGlnAlaSerLys                               154015451550                                                                   ValGlnGlnGlnLysLeuLysAlaValGlnAlaGlnGlyGlyGluSer                               155515601565                                                                   GlnGlnGluAlaGlnArgPheGlnAlaGlnLeuAsnGluLeuGlnAla                               157015751580                                                                   GlnLeuSerGlnLysGluGlnAlaAlaGluHisTyrLysLeuGlnMet                               1585159015951600                                                               GluLysAlaLysThrHisTyrAspAlaLysLysGlnGlnAsnGlnGlu                               160516101615                                                                   LeuGlnGluGlnLeuArgSerLeuGluGlnLeuGlnLysGluAsnLys                               162016251630                                                                   GluLeuArgAlaGluAlaGluArgLeuGlyHisGluLeuGlnGlnAla                               163516401645                                                                   GlyLeuLysThrLysGluAlaGluGlnThrCysArgHisLeuThrAla                               165016551660                                                                   GlnValArgSerLeuGluAlaGlnValAlaHisAlaAspGlnGlnLeu                               1665167016751680                                                               ArgAspLeuGlyLysPheGlnValAlaThrAspAlaLeuLysSerArg                               168516901695                                                                   GluProGlnAlaLysProGlnLeuAspLeuSerIleAspSerLeuAsp                               170017051710                                                                   LeuSerCysGluGluGlyThrProLeuSerIleThrSerLysLeuPro                               171517201725                                                                   ArgThrGlnProAspGlyThrSerValProGlyGluProAlaSerPro                               173017351740                                                                   IleSerGlnArgLeuProProLysValGluSerLeuGluSerLeuTyr                               1745175017551760                                                               PheThrProIleProAlaArgSerGlnAlaProLeuGluSerSerLeu                               176517701775                                                                   AspSerLeuGlyAspValPheLeuAspSerGlyArgLysThrArgSer                               178017851790                                                                   AlaArgArgArgThrThrGlnIleIleAsnIleThrMetThrLysLys                               179518001805                                                                   LeuAspValGluGluProAspSerAlaAsnSerSerPheTyrSerThr                               181018151820                                                                   ArgSerAlaProAlaSerGlnAlaSerLeuArgAlaThrSerSerThr                               1825183018351840                                                               GlnSerLeuAlaArgLeuGlySerProAspTyrGlyAsnSerAlaLeu                               184518501855                                                                   LeuSerLeuProGlyTyrArgProThrThrArgSerSerAlaArgArg                               186018651870                                                                   SerGlnAlaGlyValSerSerGlyAlaProProGlyArgAsnSerPhe                               187518801885                                                                   TyrMetGlyThrCysGlnAspGluProGluGlnLeuAspAspTrpAsn                               189018951900                                                                   ArgIleAlaGluLeuGlnGlnArgAsnArgValCysProProHisLeu                               1905191019151920                                                               LysThrCysTyrProLeuGluSerArgProSerLeuSerLeuGlyThr                               192519301935                                                                   IleThrAspGluGluMetLysThrGlyAspProGlnGluThrLeuArg                               194019451950                                                                   ArgAlaSerMetGlnProIleGlnIleAlaGluGlyThrGlyIleThr                               195519601965                                                                   ThrArgGlnGlnArgLysArgValSerLeuGluProHisGlnGlyPro                               197019751980                                                                   GlyThrProGluSerLysLysAlaThrSerCysPheProArgProMet                               1985199019952000                                                               ThrProArgAspArgHisGluGlyArgLysGlnSerThrThrGluAla                               200520102015                                                                   GlnLysLysAlaAlaProAlaSerThrLysGlnAlaAspArgArgGln                               202020252030                                                                   SerMetAlaPheSerIleLeuAsnThrProLysLysLeuGlyAsnSer                               203520402045                                                                   LeuLeuArgArgGlyAlaSerLysLysAlaLeuSerLysAlaSerPro                               205020552060                                                                   AsnThrArgSerGlyThrArgArgSerProArgIleAlaThrThrThr                               2065207020752080                                                               AlaSerAlaAlaThrAlaAlaAlaIleGlyAlaThrProArgAlaLys                               208520902095                                                                   GlyLysAlaLysHis                                                                2100                                                                           (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:5:                                               (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 353 base pairs                                                     (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA                                                       (ix) FEATURE:                                                                  (A) NAME/KEY: mRNA                                                             (B) LOCATION: 1..353                                                           (D) OTHER INFORMATION: /note="ANTI-SENSE SEQUENCE TO PART                      OF THE MTI MRNA TRANSCRIPT: N TERMINUS OF PROTEIN                              CODING SEQUENCE AND UPSTREAM 53 NUCLEOTIDES"                                   (ix) FEATURE:                                                                  (A) NAME/KEY: misc_feature                                                     (B) LOCATION: 298..300                                                         (D) OTHER INFORMATION: /note="MTI INITIATION CODON                             SEQUENCE ON COMPLEMENTARY STRAND"                                              (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:5:                                        CTCAATTTTAACTTGTTCTTGTTTTTCTCGTTGTGCAAGGCGAGCTGCAACTTCTTCAGG60                 TGGTCGCTCCCTTATAGAAGATGAGGATGCTTCTGAAAGTGCAGGTGTGGGTTTTCCTTC120                ACCAATTTCAGGGTGATCAGTTTTTAAAGATTCCTCAGGCTGAACTGCAGGGGCTGGGAC180                CGACAGGGTATCACCTGCTGCAGAAATAATTTGAGCCGCTTCTGTAGGTGCTGTTGCTGA240                AGCTGGAGTATCTCCCTTTTGTTGTTGGAGTTGTGAGGCAGGCTGTTTAGATTCTTTCAT300                TACTTCTGATACACTAGAGATTTTTAGTGGACCCGACTGAATCGATTTCTTTG353                       (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:6:                                               (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 348 base pairs                                                     (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA                                                       (ix) FEATURE:                                                                  (A) NAME/KEY: mRNA                                                             (B) LOCATION: 1..348                                                           (D) OTHER INFORMATION: /note="ANTISENSE SEQUENCE TO PART                       OF MT2 TRANSCRIPT: N TERMINUS OF PROTEIN CODING                                REGION AND UPSTREAM 48 NUCLEOTIDE"                                             (ix) FEATURE:                                                                  (A) NAME/KEY: misc_feature                                                     (B) LOCATION: 298..300                                                         (D) OTHER INFORMATION: /note="MT2 INITIATION CODON                             SEQUENCE ON COMPLEMENTARY STRAND"                                              (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:6:                                        CATGGTCATCTTCGCCAGTTCCAGCTCTGATCCCTCTAGCACCTTCTGTGCAGATACCAG60                 GCGTTCTGGGGAAGAGGGATGTTTTCGATTTTTCTGCAGAAAACTGCACACAAAGTCCAG120                TCTCTCTGACACCGGCTGCTTCTTGATTTGCTGTCCCTCTTCAGTGCCATGGATTCTGTC180                AATGATCTTGATGAAGATGCTGCAGTCCTGGAGCTGCAGCACAGCCTCCACAGGGTCAGC240                CACGTGTAGACTGTTCACCCAAGAGAGGAGTGCAGCCCCCCGGGTGGCGTGGAGTGTCAT300                CTTGGTGATGCCAGACAGTCACTCCAATGCGCCTGTAATCCCAGCTAC348                            __________________________________________________________________________ 

What is claimed is:
 1. An isolated nucleic acid comprising the DNA sequence of Seq. ID No. 1, or a nucleic acid sequence variant thereof, wherein said variant is characterized as(a) being a nucleic acid sequence that hybridizes under stringent hybridization conditions with a nucleic acid sequence complementary to the DNA of Seq. ID No. 1, and (b) encoding an epitope which specifically binds an immunoglobulin that specifically binds the amino acid sequence encoded by the DNA of Seq. ID No.
 1. 2. The isolated nucleic acid of claim 1, comprising nucleotides 94 through 2010 of Seq. ID. No.
 1. 3. A host cell transfected with the nucleic acid of claim 1 or
 2. 4. A vector comprising the nucleic acid of claim 1 or
 2. 5. An isolated nucleic acid comprising the DNA sequence of Seq. ID No. 3, or a nucleic acid sequence variant thereof, wherein said variant is characterized as(a) being a nucleic acid sequence that hybridizes under stringent hybridization conditions with a nucleic acid sequence complementary to the DNA of Seq. ID No. 3, and (b) encoding an epitope which specifically binds an immunoglobulin that specifically binds the amino acid sequence encoded by the DNA of Seq. ID No.
 3. 6. The isolated nucleic acid of claim 5, comprising nucleotides 1366 through 2865 of Seq. ID No.
 3. 7. The isolated nucleic acid of claim 5, comprising nucleotides 1 through 6303 of Seq. ID No.
 3. 8. A host cell transfected with the nucleic acid of claim 5, 6 or
 7. 9. A vector comprising the nucleic acid of claim 5, 6 or
 7. 